60 BRITISH SUTTERMjES* 



whole, a distinct difference in the spring, summer, and autumnal 

 forms, of which the spring and autumnal forms approach more nearly 

 in size, and the summer and autumnal forms in appearance. The 

 specimens of the spring brood are, on the whole, in both sexes, smaller, 

 and the females more dusted with blue, whilst those of the summer 

 brood are larger, and the females darker and much less dusted with 

 blue of a somewhat darker tint ; the specimens of the autumnal 

 brood vary greatly in size from that of the smaller vernal examples to 

 that of the larger aestival, though the colouring agrees with the latter. 

 Oberthiir states {in litt.) ; "In the spring, near Eennes, the $ generally 

 has a pale blue tint overlying the black ground colour of the wings ; 

 of nine spring 5 s seven have the forewings strongly blue, one has the 

 hindwings blue, and one is almost entirely black, but shows a trace of 

 the normal yellow lunules on the upperside of the hindwings ; whilst 

 all nine examples have two or three yellow spots on the underside of 

 the latter ; in summer, the $ s from the same district are large, black 

 above, with yellow spots on the hindwings." The spring examples 

 have usually been lumped together under the name polysperchon, 

 Bergstr., but the 2 of this latter insect, as figured by Bergstrasser, is 

 a very extreme and comparatively rare aberration, in which all the 

 wings are of a blue ground colour like the $ (see infra). But Berg- 

 strasser's description of the female polysperchon (IS omen., ii., p. 72), 

 " blue-tinted on black," is hardly consonant with the extreme $ form 

 he figures (pi. xliv., fig. 4), and agrees much better with the less 

 extreme ?s of the vernal brood, although his further description 

 " the marginal spots of the hindwings encircled with blue," denotes a 

 strong character in the figured example. It appears to us, therefore, 

 advisable to retain the name, as have most other lepidopterists, for the 

 more normal specimens of the spring form, and to name the extreme 

 aberration figured ab. bergstrasseri. We may now add the details of 

 the described forms that have come under our notice. 



European forms of Everes argiades. 



a. var. polysperchon, Bergs., "Nona.," ii., p. 72, pi. xliv., figs. 3-5 (1779) ; 

 Ochs., " Die Sclimett.," i., pt. 2, p. 62 (1808) ; Oken, " Lehrb.," ii., p. 720 (1815) ; 

 Ernst and Engr., " Pap. Eur.," i., p. 167, pi. xxxvii., figs. 79 a, b (1779); ii., p. 

 308, pi. lxxxiii. (ii. e supp. iv.), figs. 79 bis a-d (1780); Hb., " Verz.," p. 69, in -part 

 (1816-1818); Godt., " Enc. Meth.," ix., p. 660 (1823); Bdv., " Eur. Lep. Ind," 

 p. 11, in part (1829); Ivoll., "Verz.," p. 9 (1832); Treits., "Die Schuiett.," x. 

 (supp. i.), pp. 72, 237 (1834); Eversm., " Fauna Volg-Ural.," p. 57 (1844); Dup., 

 "Cat. Meth.," p. 31 (1845); Zell., " Stett. Ent. Ztg.," x., pp. 177-182(1849); 

 Heydrch., " Lep. Eur. Cat. Meth.," p. 15 (1851) ; Westd. and Hew., " Gen. Piurn. 

 Lep.," ii., p. 490 (1852); Led., " Vera, zool.-bot. Gesell.," ii., p. 19 (1852); 

 Menet., " Cat. Lep. Mus. Pet.," p. 55 (1855); Hem., " Schmett. Deutsch.," i., p 85 

 (1859); Staud., " Cat.," 1st ed., p. 4 (1861); Snell., " De Vlind.," i., p. 61 (1867) ; 

 Staud., " Cat.," 2nd ed., p. 9, in part (1871); Curo, " Bull. Soc. Ent. It.," vi., p 

 110 (1874), Frey, " Lep. Schweiz," p. 14 (1880); Kirby. " Eur. Butts.," p. 53 (1882;; 

 Lang, "Butts. Europe," p. 102 (1884); Kane, " Eur Butts.," p. 35 (1885); Riihl, 

 " Pal. Gross-Schmett.," pp. 229, 750 (1895) ; Tutt, " Brit. Butts.," p. 185 (1896); 

 Staud., "Cat,," 3rd ed., p. 77, in part (1901); Wheel., "Butts. Switz.," p. 44, 

 in part (1903); Grand, "Int. Ent. Zeit.," ii., p. 70 (1908). Amyntas, Schiff., 

 " Sclimett. Wien.," 1st ed., p. 274 (teste Bergstrasser) (1775). Tiresias, Bkh., " Sys. 

 Besch.," i., p. 166 (1788). Myrmidon, de Selys, "Mem. Soc. Roy. Sci. Liege, " ii., 

 pt. I, pp. .'SI et seq. (1815). P.P.R. nlis caudatis, posticis ad marginem nigro 

 punctatis; subtus in secundo punctomm ordine stria i'ulva ; omnibus supra 

 (a) cueruleis, J , fig. 3 ; (/3) nigro eoerulescentibus, 2 , figs. 4, 5. Wings tailed, 

 hindwings spotted with black at the border ; beneath with a reddish-yellow 



