ARICIA MEDON. 249 



The author adds that judging from the markings on the underside 

 ehinensis is most nearly allied to Lycaena pylaon, Fabr., while the 

 upperside reminds one strongly of L. astrarche, Bergs. 



Staudinger's mandschurica described in the Romanoff memoirs (vi. 

 p. 161) is the same form, and is given by him as a synonym of ehinensis 

 in the 3rd ed. of his Catalogue. He observes that he received it in 

 numbers from North China from Hertz, who had taken it at Ta-shan- 

 si, north of Pekin, throughout June and July. He had originally 

 listed it as a var. of medon, but afterwards considered it a separate 

 species. We have already (p. 240) remarked on the points on which he 

 relied as differentiating it, and shown that they all exist in other forms 

 of A. medon. The most striking character on the upperside is the 

 strongly denticulated inner edge of the orange band, but this 

 we find to be equally the case in most specimens of var. cramera, and 

 in some of the Sicilian and Sardinian examples. One of Herz's 

 specimens, labelled "Pekin," is in the Brit. Mus. coll., but there is 

 also another, quite similar, from Dschungaria. With its smaller form 

 myrmecias, specimens of which in the Brit. Mus. coll. are labelled 

 " Tekke " and " Karamouk," and which was originally discovered 

 near Krasnovodsk, on the Eastern shore of the Caspian, the range of 

 this form in Asia is a very wide one. 



Its identity with A. medon is still uncertain, but only the careful 

 comparison of the genitalia can settle the question ; there is, however, 

 no reliable superficial distinction. 



7. var. myrmecias, Chrstph., " Hor. Soc. Ent. Ross.," xii., p. 235, pi. v., 

 fig. 7 (1877); Kiihl, "Pal. Gr.-Schmett.," p. 248 (1893); Staud., "Cat.," 

 3rd ed., p. 83 (1901). — Alis integris fuscis, virescente-nitidulis, lunula media nigra, 

 fascia maculari omnium rufa, fimbriis albis, f usco-alternatis ; subtus virescenti- 

 cinereis, maculis ocellaribus, ut in L. eurypilo, sed minoribus, fascia submarginali 

 lata rufa. Exp. al. ant. 3 10mm. $ 11mm. (Christoph.). 



The upper side is described (loc. cit.) as being like astrarche except 

 that the orange is broader and that there is a greenish reflection which 

 is stated by the author (quite erroneously) not to occur in the latter 

 species. The underside he states to be like eurypilus, but, judging 

 both by the illustration accompanying the description, and from the 

 specimens in the Brit. Mus. coll., the resemblance is purely imaginary. 



This form was originally found in May about 20 miles inland from 

 Krasnovodsk ; it was scarce, and frequented the flowers of a bright 

 yellow Centaur -ea. It is merely a smaller form of the preceding, and 

 as varieties of medon they stand or fall together. 



European and Mediterranean Races. 



The remaining races differ from each other in two points, viz., the 

 amount of orange-red on the upperside, and the ground-colour of the 

 the underside, and while some of these forms are very wide- spread, 

 others have a more or less restricted range. It will, however, be 

 convenient to deal with them together. 



Hiifnagel's type, then, is the small brown form without any 

 spotting on the upperside, and without an inclination to black on the 

 one hand, nor to red-brown on the other. It is in no way surprising 

 that this is the form with which he was acquainted, though he 

 considered it scarce, as it seems to be pretty generally distributed over 

 north-central Europe. An example in the Brit. Mus. coll. from 

 Denmark corresponds in every respect with his description. The 



