246 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



the South of England it occurs only as a very scarce aberration, 

 though it is reported from Southsea (MoncreafT), Paignton (Goodall), 

 Brighton (Cooke), Dartmoor (Leach), and Croydon (Banks) ; there are 

 also records of other specimens vaguely said to have been taken " in 

 the south." Except in the form of ab. albiannulata there are no 

 records from abroad. 



The following may be regarded as aberrations of the var. sahnacis 

 (sens u latiore) : — 



a. ab. albiannulata, Harr., " Ent. Kec," xviii., p. 236 (1906) ; Rebel, "Berge's 

 Schmett.," 9th ed., p. 68 (1909). — As in P. astrarche except that the black discoidal 

 spot is surrounded by a white ring (Harrison). 



This is in part the sahnacis of many authors, but must be taken, in 

 accordance with Harrison's method of distinction, to include all those 

 specimens whose black discoidal spot is surrounded with white, which 

 have pupils — of whatever size — to the spots on the underside. It 

 appears to be an abundant form on the Durham coast, and is generally 

 distributed in the range of var. sahnacis. It is not very uncommon as 

 an aberration in the South (Hodgson), though the specific records 

 are few; they include: Sussex, summer, 1894 (Christy), Tring 

 (Rothschild), Bristol (Vaughan), Colchester (Harwood), Winchester 

 (Mason coll.), and Purbeck (Banks). Sparre- Schneider records a 

 specimen from Christiania, and in the Brit. Mus. coll. is one from Berlin. 

 Transitional forms, with a few white scales bordering some part of the 

 discoidal spot, may often be seen, and occur, for instance, in a 

 considerable number of the Brittany specimens of var. fjallica ; they 

 also occasionally appear in the Himalayan var. nazira. 



p. ab. vedrae, Harr., "Ent. Eec," xvii., p. 281 (1905) ; xviii., p. 236 (1906) ; 

 Seitz, "Gross-Schmett.," p. 309 (1909); Rebel, "Berge's Schmett.," 9th ed., 

 p. 68 (1909). — Upperside: hindwings with the row of red spots developed, but each 

 spot reduced in size. Forewings with the row of red spots reduced to two near the 

 anal angle. Discal spot black, edged with white scales. Underside : hindwings, 

 all the white ocelli, together with the black pupils are entirely absent, except two. 

 These are the discal scar (without pupil), and a minute one (with pupil) near the 

 anal angle. Not even the white ocelli occur, as in P. artaxerxes, and, in 

 consequence, the ground colour appears of a darker brown. Forewings are normal 

 in the majority of the examples, but in a few extreme cases they follow the hind- 

 wing exactly. For this form I suggest the name ab. vedrae. (Harrison). 



This form appears to be confined to the Durham coast, where in 

 certain spots it is not uncommon, and, from the description in Wailes' 

 Catalogue, p. 31, of a specimen taken by him at Castle Eden in July, 

 1856, it has evidently occurred there for a long period ; this specimen, 

 however, was of the extreme form mentioned above, and belongs 

 rather to ab. impunctata, Obth. (v. infra). 



y. ab. semi-vedrae, Harr., "Ent. Rec," xviii., p. 236 (1906). — A normal sized 

 form, underside colours normal, but ocelli (especially close inward from the white 

 median dash) becoming obsolete (Harrison). 



Another of the Durham forms. 



5. ab. albimaculata, Harr., "Ent. Rec," xvii., p. 281 (190o) ; Seitz, "Gross- 

 Schmett.," p. 309 (1909). — Another interesting form which is really an aberration 

 of the above [vedrae] , occurs more sparingly, but has a more extended range. On 

 the underside it agrees with ab. vedrae. Above, however, each red spot of the sub- 

 terminal band on the hindwings is followed by a clear white dash. This form I 

 propose to name ab. albimaculata (Harrison). 



These narrow white dashes, which, small as they are, show very 

 conspicuously, are not uncommon in specimens which do not resemble 

 ab. vedrae on the underside (v. infra, p. 257). 



