274 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



by Freyer, in 1843, as belli s (the $ 32mm., the 2 33mm. in expanse, i.e., 

 exactly the size of the larger parnassia, received as such from 

 Staudinger himself, in the British Museum coll.). The underside of 

 the foiewings of both sexes is typical, but, on the hindwings, two or 

 three faint orange lunules are sometimes developed on the hind-margin 

 near the anal angle. In 1870, as noted above, Staudinger re-described 

 the race as parnassia, stating that it only differed from Freyer's bellis 

 in size (see supra) ; but, as already noted, Freyer's bellis, figured also 

 by He mch-S chaffer and Gerhard, is of exactly the same size as some 

 of Staudinger's examples of parnassia. In 1871, Staudinger (Cat., 

 2nd ed., p. 14), without explanation, erroneously fathered the name 

 bellis upon the Persian race, which bears no resemblance to Freyer's, 

 Herrich-Schaffer's, or Gerhard's figures, nor agrees in any way with 

 Freyer's description of bellis, and this erroneous application was con- 

 tinued in the Cat., 3rd ed., p. 89. There are in the British Museum coll. 

 ten $ s and five ? s from Mount Parnassus (mostly distributed by 

 Staudinger himself as parnassia), of these two $ s and three % s are 

 referable to ab. bellis, Frr., the rest (eight $ s and two $ s) are merely 

 typically-marked semiargiis of this particular race, with no development 

 of orange lunules on the upper- or underside, the specimens of 

 bellis being merely interesting aberrations occurring amongst the 

 other typically-marked specimens. Rebel states (Lep. Fn. Balkans, 

 i., p. 193) that this small race is not rare at Slivno (in Kirchenwald), 

 and that he also " captured it, at the end of June, 1896, in the Langes- 

 Thal, the specimens agreeing quite with Greek examples, even in their 

 small expanse, and adds that Mrs. Nicholl also took it there three 

 years later" (Ent. Rec., xii., p. 31), viz., on May 29th, 1899, on the 

 sandstone hills to the west of Slivno, and it appears to be due to 

 these captures that Staudinger adds " East Roumelia " to his localities 

 for parnassia (Cat., 3rd ed., p. 89). It is quite clear, therefore, that 

 parnassia, Staud., sinks to bellis, or, at most, can only exist as a racial 

 name, of which its chief form is : — 



y. ab. bellis, Freyer, " Neuere Beit,," v., p. 26, pi. 398, figs. 1-2 (1843); 

 H.-Sch., "Sys. Bearb.," pp. 126, 160, pi. 1., figs. 232-5 (1844); Meyer-Diir, 

 "Schmett. Schweiz," p. 90 (1851) ; Gerh., " Mon. Sclrmett.," p. 9, pi. xiv., figs. 

 la-c (1853) ; Lang, " Butts. Eur.," p. 130 (1884). Semiargiis var., Staud., " Stett. 

 Ent. Ztg.," p. 265 (1862). Parnassia, Staud., " Hor. Soc. Ent. Ross.," vi., p. 55, 

 in part (1870) ; " Cat.," 2nd ed., p. 14 (1871); Lang, " Butts. Eur.," p. 130(1884); 

 Kane, '< Eur. Butts.," p. 49 (1885); Riihl, " Pal. Gross-Schmett,," i., pp. 297, 767 

 (1895); Tutt, " Brit. Butts.," p. 164 (1896) ; Staud., " Cat.," 3rd ed., p. 89 (1901) ; 

 Nich., " Ent. Rec," xii., p. 31 (1900) ; Rebel, " Lep. Fn. Balk.," p. 193 (1903).— 

 If this butterfly did not show, on the underside, yellowish, rust-coloured marginal 

 spots outside the submedian row of ocellated spots, I should consider it to be 

 our common Pap. acis (i.e., Hiibner's argiolus, figs. 269-271J, but these rust- 

 yellow spots, found also in the ? on the inner angle of the hindwings (upperside), 

 distinguish it from P. acis. The c? is on the upperside dark blue, with white 

 fringes and a black marginal border ; the ? is brown above with red-grey fringes, 

 which shade off into Avhite at the wing-apices ; the rust-yellow spots towards the 

 anal angle of the hindwings are not clearly defined in all specimens. The under- 

 side is grey, with a blue tinge at the base, has generally five larger, and one smaller, 

 black, white-edged spots on the hindwings. In this respect, the butterfly resembles 

 P. acts completely, but the latter does not sIioav the rust-yellow spots on the margin. 

 Each wing on the underside carries a white-margined, black, lunular discoidal 

 spot. The antenna^ are spotted black and white, with a small club; the abdomen 

 is covered with white hairs, the legs white-grey. Captured in Turkey, by 

 Weissenborn (Freyer). 



This well-marked aberration of the somewhat small, bright-coloured,. 



