70 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



border to the wings, often a very wide one : the genitalia, however, differentiate 

 it from argiades. The remarkable circumstance is, however, that in the same 

 region there occurs a race of argiades that almost exactly resembles it, the only 

 reliable difference in wing-marking being in the line of extra-mesial spots beneath 

 the hindwing, such that the spot in the space between veins 2 and 3 is in argiades 

 var. diporides close to the discal line, whilst in dipora it is remote from it. These two- 

 forms occur throughout a considerable portion of the northern hills of India, fre- 

 quently, probably, in different habitats, which may account for Mr Elwes meeting 

 apparently with diporides and not with dipora — at least specimens in the British 

 Museum collection taken by Elwes are diporides — and, as a result, for his- 

 disbelief in dipora being distinct from argiades. They occur, however, apparently 

 in habitats if not identical at least near together, and the two forms have all the 

 appearance of being mimetically associated. Although dipora is quite unrelated to 

 aleetas, one cannot but be struck with the fact that there is some parallelism in the 

 relations of argiades and aleetas in Europe with those of argiades var. diporides 

 and dipora in Northern India. Localities : Cherra Punja, Assam, Khasia, North- 

 west India, North-west Himalayas, North Shan States {teste examples in Betlrune- 

 Baker and Moore colls.) (Chapman). 



This is really the Indian form of E. argiades. It must not be 

 confounded with dipora, Moore, which also comes from the north- 

 west Himalayas, Khasia, Kulu, Kashmir, North India, Simla, Campbell- 

 pore {teste examples Moore and B. -Baker colls.). It is, as pointed out 

 above, the insect to which Elwes most probably refers (Trans. Eat. 

 Soc. Land., 1888, pp. 382-3), when he writes: "This is a tropical form 

 of the wide-ranging L. argiades, Pall., which occurs in the north-west. 

 Himalayas under the name of dipora, Moore ; it seems rare at Sikkim 

 at low elevations, but is very common on the Khasia hills in August 

 and September, at 4000ft. -6000ft. on the grassy downs .... The 

 summer brood examples from the Himalayas and Khasias are certainly 

 darker below, and have a broader dark border to the wings above than 

 European argiades. The red patch on the anal angle of the hindwing 

 below is also better marked ; but the examples of the spring brood in 

 the north-west Himalayas differ from those of the summer one, as the 

 German spring form (polysperchon) differs from the summer form 

 (argiades). " It appears to have been first described by Kollar, in 

 HugeVs Kaschmir, etc., p. 421, where it is stated that Hiigel brought 

 back this butterfly in both sexes from Massuri in the Himalaya. Kollar 

 says that it differs from the European examples by its smaller size, by 

 the darker blue colour of the $ on the upperside, darker ground 

 colour, and, finally, bj T the reddish-brown band on the outer margin 

 of the hindwings appearing of greater extent and darker coloration. 

 He adds that the position of the spots accords perfectly with that in 

 our European examples, so that it appears to him that the above- 

 mentioned differences are not sufficient to establish it as a separate 

 species. 



Nearctic forms. 



Our knowledge of the American Everids is most unsatisfactory. 

 Oberthur and Bethune-Baker agree with many other lepidopterists 

 that comyntas, Godt., is merely the Nearctic form of this species. 

 Godman and Salvin observe (Biologia Centrali Americana, ii., p. 108) 

 that they notice no material difference between specimens from 

 different parts of its wide area of distribution (British Columbia to 

 Costa Rica), except that the $ s from the north have the wings of 

 an uniform dark fuscous-brown, whereas, in those from the south, 

 the base is extensively suffused with blue. In Guatemala, comyntas 



