CUPIDO MINIMUS. 113 



strongly curved rows of spots. A pair from Herr Keferstein. The female would 

 be difficult to separate from that of alsus ; the apex and the outer margin of the 

 forewings are more rounded, the fringes longer and greyer, the eyespots of the 

 underside smaller, less connected together, that of cell six of the hindwing not 

 situated near the base (Herrich-Schaffer). 



In spite of the contrary opinion of Rambur and Oberthiir, whose 

 opinion in this matter is entitled to the greatest consideration, we 

 believe that lorquinii is a species distinct from minimus. At our 

 request Chapman has made a critical report on the two insects, and 

 notes : " The coloration of the $ lorquinii on the upper surface is very 

 distinct ; the spots beneath are frequently linear, rarely so in minimus, 

 and the four spots round the cell of the hindwing are often in a straight 

 line (the only four that ever are so), but then they sometimes are so 

 in minimus, and not always in lorquinii, whilst the third is often 

 obsolescent in lorquinii. In all this underside marking, the variations 

 are the "same in both, and any form may be found in both. In the 

 ancillary appendages they are marvellously similar; the only difference 

 that I can find is that the terminal spicular area of the spinous branch 

 of the clasp is thicker and more club-like in lorquinii, more tapering in 

 minimus. It is usually easy to select one spine as the terminal one in 

 minimus, rather difficult in lorquinii, several surrounding it (whichever 

 it is) being fairly level with it, but there is considerable variation in 

 this matter in minimus, and some are almost of lorquinii pattern." 

 This is interesting, but not very definitive. Rambur states (Cat. Lep. 

 Andalousie, p. 42) that he "recognises no difference between lorquinii, 

 H.-Sch., and alsus, Fab.," and concludes that " it is not even a variety; 

 the upperside," he says, " of the male is often of a dull blue, with a 

 very wide black margin, often even invading the greater part of the 

 wings ; for the rest, one finds males of alsus, of which the underside is 

 in great part blue." We are not clear as to this view of Rambur's, whose 

 opinion is further weakened by the fact that he lumps sebrus with 

 alsus (Lep. Fn. And., p. 269). To us, lorquinii exhibits most distinct 

 racial characters, not approaching at all the various varietal forms found 

 in undoubted minimus, the latter occurring in most normal form also in 

 Spain and other countries in which lorquinii is found, and in which the 

 latter is supposed to represent typical minimus. Thus there are, in the 

 British Museum collection, one quite typical minimus labelled "Anda- 

 lusia, Spain, from Staudinger ; Godman coll.," and two others labelled 

 " Spain, Leech coll." The bluish-violet colourof lorquinii is very similar 

 to that of sebrus ovsemiar (jus, and not metallic, or silvery, pale blue or green. 

 It gives the idea of an uniform surface, with a dark border, not a mere 

 sprinkling of shiny scales as in minimus. In our own opinion lorquinii is 

 distinct. Staudinger, in his Catalog, 2nd ed., p. 13, treated it as a 

 doubtful variety of minimus, but in the 3ided.,p. 89, as a separate species. 

 The specimens of lorquinii in the British Museum collection come 

 from Spain, Algeria, and Morea (see infra). Staudinger writes (Stett. 

 Ent. Zeit., xlii., p, 248) that " Haberhauer unfortunately sent only two 

 fresh small $ s from Lepsa and the Ala Tau, which might equally well 

 belong to minimus or its variety lorquinii, as they can only be distin- 

 guished in the $ sex." He adds that he certainly received a true 

 minimus $ , from the Saisan district, and an equally certain lorquinii 

 $ from Margelan, in southern Russian Turkestan (there are no Asiatic 

 examples of lorquinii in the British Museum collection), so that both 

 2 s may not at all unlikely belong to the latter form. Oberthiir notes 



