POLYOMMATUS ICARUS. 137 



to be wanting, in a great measure, the long silky-white hairs so 

 characteristic of the brighter blue forms. Barrett says that the very 

 pale forms in England, seem to be found mainly on the south coast, 

 and their deficiency in colour arises in some cases from absence of 

 the brilliant delicate hair-scales with which the upperside is usually 

 furnished, in others from actual poverty of ordinary scales ; it seems 

 probable that these deficiencies arise from insufficient or too dry food 

 — burnt up by the hot sun ; strangely, the same cause seems at 

 times to produce very small, specimens. 



8. ab. dorylas, Jermyn, " Butt. Collector's Vade Mecum," 2nd ed., p. 144 

 (1827); 3rd ed., pp. 50, 115 (1836). Icarus ab., Esp., " Scbmett. Eur.," pt. 1, 

 pi. xxxii. (supp. viii.), fig. 4 (1777). — <? , above of a bright lilac-blue, or, as it were, 

 silky, with the posterior margin black, anterior margin and fringe white. [ ? , 

 wings above brown, with the disc more or less blue, also sometimes entirely brown ; 

 with a band at the posterior margin of orange subocellated spots common to both 

 wings ; underneath, the wings are of a deep ash-colour or drab ; fringe barred 

 with brown. Underneath, in both sexes, nearly the same as in the two preceding 

 species (P. corydon and P. adonis), but the central white spot in the disc of the 

 secondary wings has an indistinct pupil.] [Is this P. alexis of Stephens' list ?] 

 (Jermyn). 



This is a rather common form of the $ , possibly the same as von 

 Rottemburg's type, a bright lilac-blue with a distinct tinge of red in 

 the colour, with, in addition, long silky-white hairs, and markedly 

 white costa. We look upon this as the more especially characteristic 

 P. icarus colour, and the major part of our specimens from most 

 localities are of this hue ; the lilac tint, especially of the disc, shading 

 off into the more violet colour of the surrounding areas of the wings. 

 Possibly dorylas , Jerm., should be considered synonymous with the type. 

 The 2 , as here described, is possibly referable to Agriades thetis. 



e. ab. candaon, Bergstrasser, "Icon.," dec. i., pi. vi., figs. 3-4 (1779); 

 " Nona.," iii., p. 3, pi. xlix., figs. 3-4 (1779); Goze, " Ent. Beit.," hi., pt. 2, p. 82 

 (1780). Icarus ab., South, "Ent.," xx., pi. ii., fig. 1 (1887).— P.P.P. alis rotun- 

 datis integerrimis cceruleis immaculatis, fimbria alba, subtus maculis conicis in 

 posticis fasciolaque mediis in marginalibus anticarum ocellis fulva. Wings 

 rounded, entire, blue, quite unspotted, with white fringes, beneath with orange 

 wedge-shaped spots on the hindwings ; a similarly coloured, but narrower, band 

 on the forewings. In general appearance on the upperside near candybus, but 

 very different on the underside. Is it a distinct species or only an aberration of 

 the latter? (Bergstrasser). 



Borkhausen, in 1788, recognised (Sys. Besclu, i., p. 161) this as a 



form of P. icarus. It is the common bright blue form of P. icarus 



without red on the one hand or purple on the other in its composition. 



It is usually well provided with long silky white hairs, especially at 



the base and along the costa. 



£*. — ab. hylasoides, n. ab. — <$ . The colour of the bright shiny glossy tint 

 of blue, characteristic of Polyommatus hylas. 



This form occurs as an occasional aberration in Britain, as well as 

 on the Continent. In the eastern part of its range it is almost racial 

 (see our notes on the Central Asiatic, races). Barrett refers (Brit. 

 Lep., i., p. 77) to one in Adkin's collection ; we recently saw three 

 there (1) from Muchalls, Kincardine, (2) Eastbourne, Sussex, right on 

 coast, September 17th, 1906, (3) Boxhill, Surrey, June 19th, 1909, 

 and there are several others in different British collections. Stefanelli 

 says (Bull. Ent. Soc. ltal., xxxii., p. 336) that examples of a vivid blue 

 colour are taken near Florence. 



77. ab. eros, Stphs., " Illus. Haust.," L, p. 93 (1828); Dale, "Hist. Brit. 

 Butts.," p. 71 (1890). Icarus ab., Joy, " Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc," 1886, 



