STUDIES IN PACIFIC COAST LEPIDOPTERA, 

 Continued. 



Dk. John A. Com stock 



Xofrs on the aciii())i-nciirniia group of Lycacitids, -a'ith 



description of a iictc species. 



The relationship of the six species and one variety of Lycaenids 

 comprising this group has been obscure, and several papers written 

 to clarify the matter have unfortunately further complicated the 

 problem. This lack of clarity results in part from the extremely brief 

 descriptions of the earliest published species, and to some extent, 

 from the small series which were available to the several authors 

 who have written on the problem. An exact knowledge of the inter- 

 relations of thd group will not be possible until a long series of each 

 species has been bred under varying conditions of climate, altitude 

 and season, but certain conclusions may be reached by a comparison 

 of series covering a wide geographic range. 



Plebeius acmon is too well known to deserve comment. Mr. Vic- 

 tor L. Clemence has given valuable notes on the species and its sea- 

 sonal forms in the Canadian Entomologist, Vol, XLI, p. 38, 1909. He 

 has pointed out the fact that the early spring form is "small in size, 

 of a darker blue than, the type form, and heavily margined in black." 

 His remarks refer, of course to the male only. The female of this 

 form tends to have the basal portion of primaries and secondaries 

 heavily shot with blue, whereas the later generations are uniform 

 slatey-brown. In the male of these later forms, the ground color 

 is a delicate violet, and the orange band on upper side of secondaries 

 is overshot with rose. 



Boisduval's antaegon refers to the summer form and is undoubt- 

 edly synonymous with acmon. 



Grinnell's cottlei is a race of acmon occuring in the San Fran- 

 cisco Bay region (the types taken at Bakers Beach). It is an early 

 spring form, and can be distinguished from the typical by the "in- 

 tensity, sharpness and distinctiveness of the deep purplish blue, the 

 heavy black border; the greatly extended deep red border of the hind- 

 wings; and darker ashy-gray and distinct markings of the under- 

 sides." 



43 



