44 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



borussia, Dadd, is evidently nothing more than marginata, Tutt, 

 occurring racially, as at Chur, Igman, etc., and has been already dealt 

 with antea, p. 25 ; altica, Neustetter, which can have no real stand- 

 ing whatever apart from ab. apennina, Zell. (see antea p. 23 and our 

 remarks infra), etc. We believe pallescens to be a racial form, but 

 have no information beyond that noted (infra) of this particular form. 



a. var. altica, Neust., "Int. Ent'. Zeits. Gub.," iii., p. 198 (December, 1909). 

 — This form flies in the Alps from 800-2000 metres. It differs from the type in 

 being smaller and lighter, more whitish silver-blue. Thus it approaches the var. 

 rezniceki, Bart. The black border of the forewing is narrower than in the type, 

 and often broken up into spots by white scales. The hindwing with fine black 

 border and black marginal spots broadly circled with white. Underside of fore- 

 wing whitish to cream-coloured, hindwing somewhat darker, with grey to ligbt 

 brown suffusion. The eyespots are generally rather smaller, but often quite as 

 large as in the type. The ? is smaller, the ground colour somewhat duskier, the 

 underside paler than in the type. Localities: Moserboden in Salzburg, the 

 Glockner, Dobratsch and Predi in Carinthia, the Ortler and Grodnerthal in South 

 Tyrol, Triglav in Carniola (Neustetter). 



So far as the description goes, the specimens here selected appear 

 to be referable to ab. apennina, Zell. Wheeler observes (in litt.) that 

 " Neustetter's statement that this form approaches var. rezniceki, Bart., 

 is unintelligible, as the points mentioned are most unlike the latter." 

 With Wheeler's statement we cordially agree. We have some 400 

 specimens of this species from the various mountain-ranges of Central 

 Europe under observation, and have no hesitation in stating that 

 under 1600 or 1800 metres an alpine mountain-form, as such, does 

 not exist. The $ specimens from the Alps of Central Europe up to 

 this elevation, offer in size, intensity of colour, width and modifica- 

 tion of border, colour of underside, size of ocellated spots, etc., practi- 

 cally as much variation as those in the lowlands ; the ? s also are 

 equally variable, and the underside of both sexes (dependent on 

 locality) often darker than lowland forms. The specimens from the 

 Ortler, between Trafoi and Ferdinandshohe reach an exceptionally 

 large average (see antea, p. 15), and one would consider Saas-Fee, Col 

 de Forclaz, Berisal, Majeugnaga, whence come some of our largest 

 examples (loc. cit.), alpine -localities, at any rate they are all near or 

 above Neustetter's limit of 2000 metres. All these places, too, give 

 good average-sized, together with occasional small, specimens ; certainly 

 from the high mountains, 1800 metres and above, there are more 

 small examples than occur a few hundred metres lower, owing to the 

 greater proportion of larvae that must be badly placed, but with them 

 fine well-developed examples may be found. The only place where wo 

 have noticed coridon tend to set up a distinct race among the high 

 mountains, has been in the Basses- and Hautes-Alpes in France- 

 above Larche and Abries — where from 6000ft. -7000ft. elevation the 

 specimens average only about o5-5mm. (against those on the Ortler 

 which average SO'Snim.). Any way, the coridon that "fly in the Alps 

 from 800-2000 metres " have no general racial Eacies whatever. 



fi. var. pallescens, n. var. — In the British Museum coll. two ef s of this species, 

 labelled "Hungaria, Leech coll.," suggest a fine racial form. They are very 

 similar to each other, exceedingly pale, the margins almost uniform with the rest 

 of the wing, hut wanting in the distinctly greenish scaling that characterises the 



specimens; in certain lights the margin of the Eorewing appears slightly fuscous, 

 and there arc then the faintest possible traces of the inter neural marginal ocellated 

 spots, whilst the hindwing has a well-defined series of marginal ooellations outlined 



