PLEBEIUS ARGUS. 197 



about Ik- miles east or south-east of Bejar, in" west central Spain, on 

 July 9th, 1902, and following days. Average size about 33mm. s , and 32mm. ? . 

 Some large specimens are 35mm., two dwarf specimens (the smallest of 100 taken) 

 being 26mm. and 29mm. respectively. This form may be called bejarensis, and is 

 characterised by its large size, 33mm. -35mm., by the definiteness of the black spots 

 on the hind margin, often surrounded by a whitish suffusion, by the broadening of 

 the black nerve-rays towards the dark border. The 2 usually has the orange 

 marks on the upperside right round all the wings, and their horseshoe form on the 

 hindwings is often completed into a circle by a white or bluish line ; in some 

 specimens they are reduced to one or two on the hindwing only. The blue of the 

 hindwing 3 is often restricted as in typical argus, but oftener advances up to vein 

 7. The var. liypochiona is, perhaps, the nearest to this form. [It goes a good way 

 towards bridging over the differences between argus, lycidas, andzephyrus, and in some 

 degree argyrognomon also.] It resembles the latter in the extension of the blue of 

 the hindwing of the c? , and in the completed ocelli of the $ hindwing, but the 

 colour of the underside of the i and of the fringes of the 2 , are characteristic of argus, 

 apart from the wide border and other obvious characters (Chapman). 



The pick of Chapman's captures of this beautiful giant race have 

 been placed at our disposal, and both sexes show considerable varia- 

 tion. On the whole 'they are considerably larger than the var. 

 casaicus, and one suspects that the general tone of the $ s, as a whole, 

 is rather more lilac than that race ; there is, however, considerable 

 variation in this direction, and we have named the forms in our 

 collection ab. bejar ensis-lilacina (lilac ground colour), lilacina-marginata 

 (with exceptionally broad band), ah. bejar ends-intermedia (between the 

 lilac tint oililacina and the bright blue of bejarensis-typica),ah. metallica 

 (bright shiny metallic blue), and oh. pallida (pale metallic blue, reminding 

 one something of the tint of the blue scales sometimes seen in $ 

 Cupido minimus). The $ s are also variable, the typical form having 

 well-marked lunules on the hindwings, and poorly-marked on the fore- 

 wings, ab. bejar ensis-virgata with the orange well-developed into 

 continuous bands on all the wings, and ab. bejar ensis-inter media with the 

 lunules on all four wings well marked. 



k. ab. casaicus, Chapm., "Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.," pp. 151, 158, pi. v., figs. 

 16-19 (1907). Argus var., Chapm., "Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond.," p. lxxxix (1906).— 

 Lycaena argus was found at all the stations visited. At Vigo, the specimens were 

 about 26mm. in expanse, of very ordinary facies, but presenting traces of the 

 peculiar character, more marked in the Casayo specimens, yet to be referred to. 

 Such small specimens only occurred at Brafiuelas and Casayo as occasional 

 aberrations. At these localities the form is a large one, up to 35mm. in expanse, 

 of a very brilliant blue above, reminding one of corydon var. corydonius, and an 

 uniform pale silvery tint below, fairly close to vara, liypochiona and bejarensis. It 

 differs from these further by a very fair proportion of specimens having, on the 

 hindmargin of the hindwing, two or three of the red arches that are present in the 

 2 ; they are, however, not orange or red-brown as in the 2 , but modified by the 

 blue so as to be a rosy pink. I believe such <? coloration is recorded in an Asiatic 

 form that otherwise differs, and the faintest traces of it may be seen even in 

 English specimens, if closely and sympathetically examined. I propose casaicus 

 as a varietal name for the race (Chapman). 



The species occurred throughout the different branches of the 

 Casayo valley, the ground, chiefly steep and rocky slopes, clad with 

 heath, Cistus, Cytisus, and often patches of scrub-oak, and in one or 

 two places moister wooded slopes. Of the variation in the ground- 

 colour Chapman notes (Proc. Ent. Sue. Lond., 1906, p. lxxxix), that 

 the "specimens varied inter se, some having the blue of a greenish tint, 

 others full lilac." We have selected from Chapman's series of this 

 insect some very beautiful specimens which vary considerably inter se, 

 forming a series of aberrational forms parallel with, but excelling in 



