146 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



with that of thetis, Esp. =oceanus, Bergstr. He states that, "on the 

 forewings, the deep blue colour extends nearly to the reddish-yellow 

 marginal spots, whilst the black discoidal lunule is very conspicuous ; 

 the costal margin remains black, the median nervure and its branches 

 are finely black. On the hindwings the inner (costal) margin is 

 broadly black as far as the exterior angle, otherwise the blue colour 

 extends as far as the marginal line, and contains the distinct reddish- 

 yellow marginal spots, edged' inwardly with black lunules, and 

 themselves edging a series of large black spots; the nervures black 

 towards the margin. The $ s, he says, show a tendency to vary in the 

 quantity of blue present; most frequently there is a blue suffusion basally 

 in both fore- and hindwings, the latter also being blue before the margin, 

 and extending to the reddish-yellow marginal lunules, this blue area 

 being traversed by the black nervures." The blue aberrations of this 

 species are probably more abundant in Britain and Western France than 

 elsewhere, but they are also common in its northern and eastern 

 localities, some of the Asiatic examples being very beautiful. The blue 

 forms abound in both broods at Deal, Folkestone, and almost every- 

 where on the North and South Downs ; Smallman says that it is the 

 usual form of $ on Wimbledon Common, and Grover that fine examples 

 of this aberration occur at Guildford. Kroulikowsky says, it is found 

 near Sarapoul and Malmisch, as well as Urzoum in the Viatka Govt. ; 

 Eiihl notes it from [Kasan] , Slavonia, Wolfsberg ; Nassau, Schwerin ; 

 Zurich, etc. Favre says that it occurs in Yalais, along the banks of 

 the Dranse and below la Bfitiaz ; but Wheeler states that, among the 

 hundreds of Vaudois and Valaisian P. icarus he has seen, not one 2 has 

 been blue beyond the discoidal spot and that even this is very rare. Lowe 

 notes that the autumn examples in Guernse} T often reach to ab. caerulea. 

 In the south the blue forms are apparently more restricted to the early 

 spring broods, and to be much rarer than in the north and west ; 

 in the spring brood, however, they are not uncommon in Algeria (see 

 infra) and Sicily (Chapman) ; but Bromilow says that ab. caerulea 

 appears to be rare in the Alpes-Maritimes, although examples 

 approaching thereto appear not to be scarce in the Nice district. 

 Verity notes it as scarce in the Vallombrosa. 



p. ab. glauca, Maas., " Stett. Ent. Ztg.," p. 160 (1880); Eiihl, "Pal. 

 Gross- Schmett.," p. 269 (1893). Caerulea, Gillm., " Int. Ent. Zeits. Gab.," ii., 

 p. 2 (1908). — Lycaena alexis, common in all meadows and by country-roads. On 

 the latter they often sit in damp places with L. adonis in great numbers, 

 closely packed together. An aberration of the ? often occurs with blue on the 

 upperside, analogous with the ceronus of L. adonis, and may easily be mis- 

 taken for this; also, intermediate forms between this aberration and the usual 

 uniform brown ? , with more or less blue, are not rare. Similar blue ? s occur 

 frequently in the Muckerthal. As no special name has, I believe, been given this 

 form, I propose to call it glauca (Maassen). 



It is difficult to know what form Maassen means by glauca. He 

 says it is analogous with the ceronus of />. adonis, and might be easily 

 mistaken for this. If one reads Esper's original description of a tonus 

 (antea, vol. x., p. 345) it will be seen that the main feature of this 

 form is the row of deep red spots on the margins of all the wings, 

 whilst the costal margin of Esper's figure [Eur, Schmett^ pi. xc. 

 (cont. xl.), fig. 2] has the costa and nervures of the forewings blackish. 

 It should, one supposes, be restricted tu such examples. It appears to 



