346 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



etc. Esper gives two figures of ceronus (Eur. Schmett., pi. xc. [cont. 

 xl.), fig. 2, and pi. cii. [cont. lvii.] , fig. 1). The former was figured 

 from an example taken near Pressburg, in Hungary, the latter 

 from one captured in Wallachia. The first is described above, 

 the second was noted (op. cit., supp. p. 50) as an aberration of 

 ceronus, of which Esper thought it might be the $ , noting it 

 as " having a similar blue upperside, with black costa, nervures, and 

 square- spotted margins, only the reddish-yellow antemarginal spots 

 are wanting on the forewings, whilst the hind wings have the same 

 colour and pattern as ceronus, except that, instead of the bright red 

 angular antemarginal spots, this has only four similarly-coloured small 

 dots which are still more finely bordered with black above. The 

 undersides of the two examples are similar, but the spots are smaller in 

 the Wallachian example, whilst the discoidal of the hindwings is 

 absolutely whitish, the pale colour spreading over the median area of 

 the hindwings." This is, of course, our semiceronus. Esper's figure 

 of this Wallachian example hardly tallies with his description (supra); 

 it is rather a fancy figure of bright royal blue colour, with black costa 

 and outer margin ; the discoidal circular, and ringed with white ; 

 four orange interneural spots on hindwings, none on forewings ; under- 

 side spotting nearly normal, with only one basal spot to forewings. 

 The original figure of ceronus (Eur. Schmett., pi. xc. [cont. xl.] , fig. 2) 

 may be described as large; the ground colour dark blue, reaching from 

 the base to the orange-band in all the wings ; the costal margin of the 

 forewings blackish, the forewings with dark discoidal ; the orange-red 

 band of forewings well-developed, reduced tolunuleson the hindwings; 

 the ground colour of the underside dark brown, with well- developed 

 spots, and orange-red antemarginal band ; only one basal spot to fore- 

 wings, the discoidal lunules black. The specimens in the British 

 Museum coll. that approach nearest to Esper's figure of ceronus — with 

 dark costa, dark nervures, and orange on all the wings — have come from 

 Algeria (Elwes), Central France (Sand), and Gottingen (Leech coll.). 

 Hiibner figures (Eur. Schmett., pi. lxi., figs. 295-7) under this name, a 

 $ of the form puncta, and a $ which may be included under ceronus 

 (-lunulata), blue to the margin of all the wings, a dark linear discoidal 

 lunule, narrow black costal and outer margins to forewings, orange 

 lunules on hindwings, and traces of the three lowest ones on forewings. 

 Gerhard figures (Mon., pi. xxx., figs. 2a-c) a fine wholly blue ? with 

 orange antemarginal spots = ab. coelestis, Obth., as $ ceronus, and as 

 2 ceronus, a quite ordinary £ of A. thetis, approaching ab. venilia, 

 the forewings wholly fuscous, except a mere trace of orange marginal 

 spots, the hindwings blue from the base to the antemarginal row of 

 well-developed orange spots, but the costa wholly fuscous, neither 

 form, therefore, belonging to ceronus. It is clear that the name 

 ceronus must be limited to those blue $ s of thetis with the costa and 

 the nervures of the forewings brownish or blackish, which are broadly 

 the characters of Esper's ceronus. Muschamp notes (Ent. Bee, xvi., 

 p. 221) the $ of the spring brood as very brilliant in Majorca, with 

 blue extending beyond the orange borders to the fringe. The form ceronus 

 occurs in both broods, for Jones notes it as occurring June 5th, 1890, at 

 Digne, Forbes, at the end of August, 1876, at Bellagio, Wheeler on Septem- 

 ber 1st, 7th, 1899, at Sierre, Nowicki at Janow in June, and on the 

 Limberg sandhills in August. The ab. ceronus is recorded (one suspects 



