AGRIADES CORIDON. 55 



marginal band of forewings wide, divided throughout its length by a white line, 

 the outer marginal portion containing a series of interneural white-edged spots ; a 

 series of white interneural blotches inside the outer margin on all four wings 

 encroaching on the blue ground colour. The underside dark grey and well- 

 spotted " (Tutt). 



Herrich-Schaffer's short diagnostic note (quoted supra) settles 

 definitely his form hispana. The wonderful sheen, having the appear- 

 ance of pale interneural patches just within the dark margin of the 

 wings, so conspicuous in this bright blue Spanish form when viewed 

 with the light falling on it at certain angles, explains Herrich- 

 Schaffer's artistic failure to picture the shades otherwise than as white 

 interneural patches, by means of which we may get an entirely 

 erroneous opinion of the form indicated. Exactly the same erroneous 

 effect has been produced by Herrich-Schaffer in dealing with the quite 

 similar shiny patches in the same position in his figure of albicans 

 (pi. ciii., figs. 494-5) = caerulescens {supra). Staudinger's remarkable 

 diagnosis and reference (Cat., 2nd ed., p. 12): " Pallidior, marg. post, 

 rnaculato; an prase, (apennina, Zell.) sat distincta ? " are quite inex- 

 plicable, and Kane's (Eur. Butts., p. 45) " whiter than the type, with 

 marginal border broken up into patches ; a trifling var.," is equally 

 unsatisfactory, whilst Staudinger's further reference of arragonensis, 

 Gerh., as a synonym to hispana, H.-Sch. {Cat., 3rd ed., p. 86) completes 

 the muddle. There are only four examples in the British Museum coll. 

 of this exceedingly beautiful and variable race ; we therefore note the 

 following points from Dr. Chapman's magnificent series of 44 $ s and 

 3 $ s from " Tragacete, 18-26. vii. '01," and 2 $ s " Albarracin, 

 28. vii. -6. viii. '02." The $ s vary in size from 31 -25mm. to 41-omm. ; 

 the average of the specimens looks small against that of arragonensis 

 both in wing-expanse and comparative width ; the colour varies 

 between a warm lilac-blue and a bright glossy hylas-blue ; the fringes 

 are pure white, conspicuously chequered with black on the forewings, 

 inconspicuously on the hindwings (sometimes with the black streaks 

 quite absent); the nervures covered with blue scales medially, black on 

 the outermargin, less marked on the hind- than on the forewing ; the 

 black marginal border of hindwings narrowing, carrying a series of 

 interneural black spots edged externally with white ; the marginal 

 border of the forewings variable and modified in appearance by 

 direction of light, (1) a series of interneural black spots attached to fine 

 marginal line, (2) a similar series faintly edged with grey, (3) a border 

 just wide enough to absorb the hardly traceable spots, (4) a similar 

 border with no spots observable, (5) a wider band with the marginal 

 row of spots, the paler inner edges of which unite to form a greyish 

 line dividing the band throughout its length as in Herrich-Schaffer's 

 figure. (The only example that shows this is the " Albarracin " one.) 

 Inside the marginal band the blue colour has a brilliant sheen in 

 certain lights, making it appear as if the margin is internally edged 

 with a series of pale interneural blotches. (Hence Herrich-Schaffer's 

 white patches here.) The underside of the forewings whitish, the 

 hindwings more yellow ; the spotting large and well-defined, showing 

 most of the usual aberrations in the basal spots — ab. quadripuncta, 

 tripuncta, unipuncta, etc.— the union of the basal and submedian ab. 

 parisiensis, ab. semiarcuata, etc. We have, therefore, in var. hispana, a 

 whole series of colour aberrations; warm lilac-blue = ab. lilacina : 

 the type (blue with a slight tinge of red) ; bright glossy blue = ab. 



