520 BEITISH LEPIDOPTERA. 



£. var. laphria, Frr., '• Neu. Beitr.," vi., p. 135, pi. 568, fig. 2 (1850) ; H.-Sch., 

 " Sys. Bearb.," vi., p. 44 (1852), fig. 108 (as laphira) (1851) ; Staud., "Hor. Soc. Ent. 

 Boss.," xiv., pp. 320-321 (1878-9). — The red spots on the'fove-wings are very large 

 and irregularly confluent, so that they form only three larger spots of longish 

 quadrate outline. The antennas are very fine, with larger clubs. The abdomen 

 slender and not at all thick. The underside similar to the upper, only some- 

 what paler. From the Caucasus, captured by Kindermann (Freyer). 



Prout notes that Freyer's figure brings out all these points, and 

 shows a moderately broad marginal border to the hind-wings ; spot 4 

 is much larger than 3, 6 is small, and forms an elongate appendix 

 to 5. Herrich-Schaffer's figure is more like normal A. filipendulae in 

 appearance, the antennae less markedly slender, spots 1 and 2, and 3 

 and 4 separate (3 intersected by a green nervure), 5 and 6 confluent, 6 

 smaller than 5, and united thereto. Herrich-S chaffer writes : " Laphria, 

 Kind., Sppl. 108. Two males received from Amasia, through Lederer, 

 of the form of a large A. filipendulae. Ground colour very dark, more 

 blue than green, with an especially clear blue border to the hind- wings ; 

 the red as in A. filipendulae, spots 3 and 4 more obliquely placed, more 

 extended longitudinally, 4 quadrangular, 5 and 6 united. Beneath, 

 the red shade of the fore-wings is somewhat denser. The second 

 example has a rather more convex margin to the fore-wings, and the 

 spots (except 3) are somewhat larger. Staudinger notes {Hor. Soc. 

 Ent. Boss., xiv., pp. 320-321) as follows: "On July 5th, I caught 

 behind the Jenikeui plateau, a $ which I certainly consider to be 

 ab. cytisi. On July 12th-14th, I caught, on the Ak Dagh, at about 

 the same elevation, three ? s which I could only refer to A. filipen- 

 dulae as a variety, and which almost exactly agree with the laphria 

 of Lederer' s collection. Kindermann sent specimens from Tokat 

 which Lederer gives as laphria. The latter had in his collection 

 examples (unfortunately without indication of locality) some of which 

 may be from Tokat, others from Armenia. These specimens vary 

 inter se, are of the size of small A. filipendulae or large A. meliloti, are 

 mostly of a paler red than A. filipendulae, and have a broader black 

 outer margin to the hind-wings, perhaps, than has A. charon. I at 

 first thought that they were large aberrant A. charon, but now decidedly 

 consider them to be a var. of A. filipendulae. In Gruner's collection 

 there were also two examples from Kindermann, taken in Pontus, 

 which stood as laphiria. The laphira (laphria in the text) figured by 

 Herrich-Schaffer (fig. 108), came from Amasia, and appears to me 

 to be only A. filipendulae ab. cytisi. The very peculiar-looking figure 

 of laphria in Freyer, from the Caucasus, may also very well only 

 represent an aberration of A. filipendulae. 



Ovum. — The eggs are laid in masses, with some signs of regularity 

 observable in the lower layers, but the upper layers are more irregular. 

 The egg is pale yellow in colour, with one pole transparent, becoming 

 darker yellow as the embryo matures. Length -75 mm., breadth 

 •56 mm., height -5 mm. It is somewhat oval in outline with blunt 

 ends, tending to be brick-shaped. The surface is very shiny and 

 covered with faint and shallow pittings. The empty shell is perfectly 

 transparent (Bacot). Watkins describes the egg as oval, glassy, light 

 orange in colour, the yelk only partially filling the egg. Hellins notes 

 it is as being " very much like that of A. trifolii, perhaps a trifle shorter 

 and stouter." Our own notes read as follows : — " If deposited in one 

 layer, usually placed regularly and in ' contact,' but often as many 



