SEASONAL DIMORPHISM OF LEPIDOPTERA. 31 



while others were sent to me at Freiburg, and formed the 

 material for the following experiments. 



I cannot neglect the opportunity of here tendering my warmest 

 thanks to Dr. Schiemenz for his kind support of my efforts. Any 

 one who knows from his own experience the difi&culty and liability 

 to accident in obtaining such material for research can estimate, 

 how far these thanks are deserved. Even from German phloeas 

 I endeavoured to obtain eggs in vain for years, and when I at 

 length succeeded it was still only a moderate number. 



(1) Neapolitan Eggs reared at Naples. — The eggs, which were 

 laid at Naples in the beginning of May on Rumex acetosella, were 

 reared on plants grown in pots, and produced 36 butterflies 

 between June 26th and 29th. These are all characterized by a 

 very broad deep black margin on the upper side of the fore wings, 

 and by very large deep black spots. Many also exhibit the black 

 powdering of the brilliant red-golden ground colour characteristic 

 of the var. eleus ; however, this latter character is very unstable, 

 and very unequally developed. Three degrees may be separated 

 according to the extent of the black powdering of the fore wings. 



A. Darkest form. Only 3 to 5 small washed-out spots remain 

 of the red-gold of the ground colour ; all the rest of the surface 

 of the wings is powdered with deep black, and only exhibits 

 scattered red-golden scales, which produce a slight golden lustre. 

 Only slight traces of red-golden spots can be recognized outside 

 the band of black spots. Eight specimens of this form. 



B. Intermediate form. The red-golden ground colour is 

 visible outside the band of black spots in the form of definite 

 spots, but all the lower half of the wing is strongly powdered 

 with black. Twelve specimens of this form. 



C. Brightest form. The lower half of the wing, from the base 

 to the band of spots, is powdered with black, which does not 

 extend outside the same. Twelve specimens of this form. 



All three forms consequently merit the name of the var. eleusy 

 although they vary greatly just in the characteristic of this 

 variation ** of the black powdering of the upper side of the fore 

 wings." This cannot be regarded as the effect of rearing in a 

 room, but as a peculiar variability of the summer brood of 

 phloeas at Naples. A specimen of phloeas from Greece and one 

 from Corsica are even blacker than the variety A, as they indeed 

 no longer have any red-golden spots, but only a slight golden 

 lustre, which results from scattered golden scales. 



I possess 71 specimens oi phloeas from Southern Japan (Tokio), 

 which were captured in June and July, 1887, and consequently 

 all belong to the summer brood. All have a very broad black 

 margin and large deep-black spots, but the black powdering of 

 the red-gold ground colour is with them also of very varying 

 strength. Only 3 are equal in darkness to the specimens already 

 noted from Greece and Corsica ; in many only the basal portion 



