P0LY0MMATUS ICARUS. 141 



8. ab. rufina, Obth., " Etudes," xix., p. 14, pi. vi., fig. 52 (1894); xx., p. 23 

 (1896); Grund, "Int. Ent. Zeits. Gub.," ii., p. 79 (1908); [? Fletch., " Ent.," 

 xxxvii.,p. 317(1904).] Amoena, Schultz, "Ent. Zeits. Guben," xviii., p. 93 (1904); 

 Seitz, " Grcss.-Schmett.," p. 312 (1909); Rebel, "Berge's Schmett.," 9th ed., 

 p. 70 (1909). — ? . The upperside of the wings pale brown with reddish rays, as 

 if tbe orange marginal lunules had spread to the middle of the wings. Oberthtir 

 coll. Captured by Vallantin at Bona, Algeria, 1890 (Obertbiir). 



There are two very fine examples of this form in the British 

 Museum coll. marked " Mutzell coll.," but unfortunately without 

 indication of locality. It is no doubt the same form that Schultz 

 described [tCnt. Zeits. Guben, xviii., p. 93) as " maculis fulvis supra 

 radiatis." " The reddish-yellow marginal spots on the upperside of the 

 forewings are in a striking way more or less drawn out into rays, some- 

 times coming out in a wedge-shape as far as the middle of the wing. 

 In one example of this aberration the hindwings on the upperside are 

 strongly dusted with blue, the forewings noticeably less so. Pilz coll., 

 taken at Heinrichau, 1903 ; Claasen coll." Gillmer states (in lift.) 

 that he also has a 2 , in which the elongation of one of the reddish- 

 yellow marginal spots of the upperside of the fore wing reaches to the 

 discoidal spot. There is also a Surrey example of this form in 

 Hodgson's collection. 



e. ab. medon, Esp., " Schmett. Eur.," L, p. 330, pi. xxxii. (supp. viii.), fig. 1 

 (1777). — Ahs supra fusco-nigricantibus, fasciis utrinque macularibus fulvis ad 

 marginem, subtus ocellis numerosis. Von Rottemburg has, under the name alexis, 

 described a butterfly which, according to all the characters noted, is the one under 

 consideration.* This name, however, is already jnven to a very different butterfly, 

 which we describe later (pi. xlv., figs. 1-2) f. We must, therefore, of necessity, 

 choose another appellation, and it appears to me to be best to retain the name 

 medon which Hufnagel has already applied to this or at least to one resembling it ; 

 it corresponds with von Rottemberg's P. medon, Anmerk. ebend., p. 10, no. 41J. 

 This species is only found very rarely with us, but must be much commoner in 

 other localities, e.g., Frankfort-on-Main. The illustration shows the ? . I am 

 unaware whether its consort has the blue of the yl?7/w.s-species on the upperside of 

 the wings as a sexual distinction ; this, further observation must decide. The 

 upperside of this species is of a quite peculiar shade, changing from brown-black 

 to bluish-green, but yet only a single colour. The underside of all the wings is a 

 brownish red-grey (Esper). 



Esper's figure shows blue nervures, and this character, coupled 

 with its large size, leads us to conclude that it is a large well-marked 

 aberration of this species, with strikingly well-developed orange spots 

 on all the wings, the underside of the form icarinus, which gives it a 

 still more astrarche-like appearance. We have several examples of this 

 description, which we can hardly distinguish on the upperside from 

 Aricia astrarche, but our specimens of this astrarchoides form have no 

 trace of the blue nervures exhibited in Esper's figure, nor does Esper's 

 description notice them, but, on the contrary, he says it is " of a single 

 colour." 



f. ab. pampholyge, Bergstr., "Nom.," ii., p. 77, pi. xlvii., figs. 1-2(1779); 

 Goze, " Ent. Beit.," hi., pt. 2, p. 80 (1780).— P.P.R. alis angulatis fuscis, lunulis 

 anticarum ad marginem quinis, annulis posticarum senis fulvis ; subtus cinera- 

 scentibus, fascia fulva. The upperside of the wings brown, with five reddish- 

 yellow lunules on the margin of tbe forewings, and six similarly-coloured lunules 

 on the hindwings. The underside ash-coloured, with a reddish-yellow submarginal 

 transverse band. Perhaps the ? of our oceanus, therefore only an aberration 

 of salacia (pi. 1., figs. 1-2) (Bergstrasser). 



* Von Rottemburg's description is given in a footnote. 



f This is Erebia ligea. 



I Here follows von Rottemburg's description of medon. 



