240 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



Teheran, on the contrary, are of the south-west Himalayan form, var. 

 nazira, Moore ; these have very narrow, rather dull orange bands on 

 both wings, failing before the costa, the underside being of pale cafe- 

 au-lait. Though the amount and the brightness of the orange varies, 

 it is only within narrow limits. The dark spots between the orange 

 and the edge of the wings is very conspicuous in this form. 



Specimens from Turkestan show a good deal of orange, especially 

 on the hindwing, and amongst these are the most pronounced 

 specimens of ab. albisignata. All those in the Brit. Mus. coll. except 

 a 2 taken by Haberhauer at Samarkand are very pale on the under- 

 side. Most of the more northern Asiatic specimens, at least from 

 mountain districts, show little or no orange, few as much as in 

 Hiibner's figure of " agestis " ; though a $ from Beshkana, 3,500ft., 

 has more. A very large $ from Amurland, and 2 $ s and a 2 from 

 Ongodai (Altai mtns., 3,500ft.), taken July 10th, 1898, are of the 

 alio us form ; others from these localities, and specimens from Arasan 

 (6000ft.), from the Changai mountains, and a pair from Irkutsk 

 approach the same form ; the underside of the '$ s is grey, that of the 

 £ s slightly browner. The spotless examples from Sary Ob, 

 Sarafschan, are pale beneath and belong to the var. sarmatis. Two 

 smaller specimens from Dschungaria, taken June 11th and 19th, 

 1889, have a little orange-red on the hindwing and traces on the 

 forewing. 



The var. chinensis, Murray (mandschurica, Stdgr.), of which var. 

 mynnecias is only a smaller form, may belong here. Certainly not 

 one of the points adduced by Staudinger (who originally regarded it as 

 a form of this species) for separating it can be relied upon. The 

 fringes are not at all more chequered than those of the var. cramera, 

 nor than some specimens of var. ornata or var. calida, all of which 

 have as broad or broader orange submarginal band. The white 

 underside on which he relies is scarcely, if at all, whiter than in 

 specimens from Asia Minor, while the absence of the white wedge- 

 shaped streak on the underside of the hindwing is not only common 

 in var. calida, and found even in British specimens, but is absolutely 

 accounted for by the general whiteness of the ground-colour. This is 

 the most north-easterly form of the species and occurs commonly in 

 June and July to the north of Pekin, but it is also found in 

 Dschungaria, and in the smaller form of var. mynnecias in the 

 Karamouk and Tekke districts, and on the east coast of the Caspian. 

 This is, indeed, the strongest argument against its identity with A. 

 medon, considering the small amount of orange usually found in 

 specimens from some of these districts, but we have as yet no evidence 

 to show that it is not merely the form of the lower levels. * 



British Races. 



By far the most interesting of the local races of this species, and, 

 indeed, almost the only forms to which the title can be justly applied, 



* As the position of this form is doubtful, and the figures give rather the 

 impression of a Scolitantid species, (which the actual insects do not), it is only 

 right to state that I am alone responsible for its inclusion here ; I have however 

 the support of Oberthvir and Blachier, who both include it without question among 

 the forms of this species (G. Wheeler). 



