66 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



yellow-orange spots near the anal angle. Taken at Hermance, near Geneva, in 

 the summer (? July) by M. R^ch (Blachier, in litt.). 



Asiatic races. 

 According to de Niceville (Butts. India, iii., p. 138) this species 

 occurs throughout Asia, but it is really very doubtful whether true E. 

 argiades extends into the Oriental region, where its place appears to be 

 taken by the somewhat distantly-allied Binghamia p,arrhasius(antea, p. 42), 

 and one suspects that it is to this latter species that he is referring when 

 he observes (Butts, of Sumatra, p. 455) that, "in Sumatra, the species is 

 common at low elevations in October and November, as usual, the J s 

 on roads, the 2 s on flowers in small jungle." He further notes that 

 Kheil calls Lampides boeticus the "cardui" of the Lycanids, but Everes 

 argiades better deserves that epithet, as it has a still greater range, 

 occurring in N. America under a slightly modified form (as comyntas, 

 Godt.), which L. boeticus does not do. Dr. Martin also says that Euro- 

 pean specimens have the spots on the underside of the wings some- 

 what more prominent than in Sumatran examples, again probably 

 referring to B. parrhasius. De Niceville gives the following general 

 description of the Indian forms (Butts. India, iii., p. 138) : 



cf . Upperside : both wings blue with an outer black margin of very variable 

 width ; sometimes with a black discocellular spot ; cilia whitish throughout ; hind- 

 wings with a more or less prominent marginal series of black spots, sometimes 

 indistinctly crowned with orange ; the wing outwardly bounded by a very fine 

 white line and an anteciliary fine black line ; tail very variable in length, tipped 

 with white, the shaft more or less white. Underside : both wings sometimes almost 

 pure white, often more or less sullied with brownish ; the fore wing with a fine 

 blackish line on the discocellular nervules, a discal series of spots, sometimes 

 brownish* and confluent into a macular band, sometimes well separated, distinct, 

 black,f surrounded by a fine white line ; two somewhat indistinct submarginal 

 series of dark lunules, the inner series sometimes very prominent, and formed into 

 large quadrate spots ; an anteciliary fine black line. Hindwingwith the discocellu- 

 lar nervules defined by a narrow dark line ; sometimes with four prominent black 

 spots only, one beyond the middle of the costa, two near the base, and one near the 

 middle of the abdominal margin, an obscure discal irregular series of pale brown 

 spots, the marginal series of lunules as in the forewihg, bearing two prominent 

 black spots beyond the tail, irrorated with greenish-silvery scales, and crowned 

 broadly with orange ; sometimes with the discal irregular series of spots as promi- 

 nent and as black as the rest, with a complete marginal silver-spangled series of 

 black spots, with a broad orange band placed inwardly against them ; a fine ante- 

 ciliary black line. ? . Upperside : both wings sometimes entirely sooty-black, 

 sometimes with the basal and discal area of the forewing and the disc of the hind- 

 wing blue, sometimes the entire upper surface almost as blue as in the blackest 

 bordered <? s, but the blue of a different shade. Hindwing with the marginal black 

 spots usually more prominent than in the 3 . Underside : both wings as in the ? . 



De Niceville adds : " The above description is drawn up from Indian 

 specimens only. The variations indicated appear to be confined to no 

 particular locality, though I believe there is a very marked seasonal 

 dimorphism in many localities, the lightest coloured $ s and ? s 

 occurring in the dry season, the dark $ s and completely black $ s in 

 the rains." He then goes on to say that " no author has placed 

 parrhasius, Fab., and dipora, Moore, as synoiryms of argiades, but no 

 author has undertaken to show how these three species differ ; I can 

 find absolutely no character by which to separate them ; in every 



° Apparently this refers to parrhasius. 

 "f" This probably belongs to true argiades. 



