340 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



South London Entomological Society held on October 7th, 1886, a 

 report of the examples being given (Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc, 1886, 

 p. 61). He observes that he took, in Kent, seven $ s of a pale lilac 

 or French grey colour, with 2 s to correspond, the latter very pale 

 brown or fawn, clouded with pale lilac and with pale orange spots ; 

 the $ s were taken, one on June 7th, one on June 10th, and five more 

 on June 15th, whilst, on June 17th, one $ was seen, and four 2 s 

 taken (Ent., xix., p. 176). On visiting the ground again in the 

 autumn, he took two $ s and two ? s which were not so large as the 

 spring examples. In exhibiting them, Sabine suggested (Proc. Sth. 

 Lond. Ent. Soc, p. 61) that these were hybrids of A. bellargus and A. 

 coridon. One of these $ s and two 2 s, together with other aberra- 

 tional forms, were described in detail by South (Ent., xx., p. 

 80, no. 7 — $ , nos. 4, 5 — 2 s), when he asserted, without further 

 evidence, that these different aberrations were hybrids between 

 Polyommatus icarus and Agriades bellargus. In June, 1887, 

 Sabine reported (Ent., xx., p. 181) the capture of further ex- 

 amples in Kent, and stated that he was now inclined to the 

 view expressed by South, that the specimens were hybrid P. icarus and 

 A. bellargus. We freely criticised these opinions (Ent., xx., pp. 207, 257), 

 as also did Briggs (op. cit., p. 253), etc., as having no evidence to 

 support them.* Webb then recorded (Ent., xxi., p. 133) similar 

 specimens, captured at Folkestone, 1887, whilst Austin captured 

 several between 1887 and 1893 also at Folkestone, whence Pickett has 

 recorded the same form as late as 1902. Tyrer further reported (Ent. 

 Rec, ii., p. Ill) the capture of several of this pale form at Queendown 

 Warren, on June 3rd, 1891. The form, however, is still a very rare 

 one, and few collections possess what are known in common parlance 

 as " pale icarus -coloured bellargus." Stollwerck notes that he once 

 met, in the Khine Provinces, bellargus that came near alexis (icarus) 

 in tint, but with chequered fringes. Zeller notes a $ taken at Preth 

 as light as P. meleager ; but neither of these quite suggests our ab. 

 pallida. Oberthiir records (Etudes, xx., p. 19) an English $ , from 

 the " Prest coll.," having the right side of the normal sky-blue colour, 

 the left side lilac-grey = ab. varticolor, n. ab. 



e. ab. nigra, Ckll., "Ent.," xxii., p. 5 (1889); Tutt, "Ent. Rec," xiv., p. 113 

 (1902). Bellargus ab., Sabine, " Ent.," xix., p. 176 (1886); " Proc. Sth. Lond. 

 Ent. Soc.," p. 61 (1886); South, " Ent.," xx., pp. 80-81 (1887); Austin, " Ent. 

 Rec," ii., p. 273 (1891); Huckett, " Ent. Rec," iv., p. 259 (1893); Briggs, " Proc. 

 Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc," p. 77 (1894); Frohawk, "Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc," p. 40 

 (1895); South, "Butts. Brit. Isles," pi. 118, fig. 5 (1906). Urania, Mosley, 

 " Vars. Brit. Lep.," p. 95 in part, pi. iii., fig. 19 (1896). Sufusa, Tutt, "Brit. 

 Butts.," p. 171 (1896); Wheeler, "Butts. Switz.," p. 32(1903); Gillm., "Soc 

 Ent.," xviii., p. 156 (1904); "Int. Ent. Zeits.," iii., p. 64 (1909); Griebel, 

 "Lep. Faun, der bayer. Rheinpfalz," i., p. 16 (1909). Niger, Ckll., "Ent. 

 Rec," ix., p. 331 (1897).— (1) d . Blue-black, with small black spots on the 

 hind margins, and a dash of brownish colour along the inner margins of hind wings; 

 nervures black, running through the whitish fringes ; underside forewings smoky- 



•:::- We may here note concerning this controversy, that, in June, 1885, Sabine 

 asked us to give him details of a locality whore he might himself capture A. thetis 

 (bellargus), a species that he had not, at that time, met with, that we introduced 

 him in August, 1885, to the Cuxt.on locality, and gave him particulars regarding 

 the Bluebell hill and Queendown Warren localities, from one (or all) of Avhich the 

 specimens, captured in 1886 and 1887, undoubtedly came. Tyrer notes (Ent. Rec, 

 ii., p. Ill) that Sabine and he took the pale forms of thetis (bellargus), that 

 Sabine recorded, at Queendown Warren. 



