312 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



Of this variety Elwes (Trans. Ent. Soc. Land., p. 329, 1899) says: 

 " I found this only in the Lower Bashkaus Valley, at the south of 

 Lake Teletskoi, where it was fresh at the end of July. Berezowsky 

 also found it at Ongodai. The specimens are very variable in size, 

 but may be distinguished, like those I have from Irkut, from Turkestan, 

 and from Amdo, by the much greater average extension and bright- 

 ness of the blue at base of hindwings below. This is found to some 

 extent in avion, especially from southern localities, such as the Pyrenees 

 and Armenia, but never (in my specimens) extends to the margin." 



(|8) var. nariina, Courv., "Ent. Zeits.," xxiv., p. 202 (1910). — Expanse never 

 under 32mm., in many up to 40 or even 42mm. Wings in all, <? s and ? s, very 

 narrow and elongated ; the border of the forewings, even in the ? s, very little 

 rounded and running on a considerable slope. Ground-colour in both sexes a 

 remarkably light grey-blue ; in the ? the forewings are overspread with a deep 

 smoke-grey while the hindwings are still distinctly blue. In place of the broad 

 black band usually running round, appears only a fine black line, even in the ? s, 

 which sends out small teeth into the white fringe ; on the inside of this, along the 

 whole border of both wings, are dark marginal spots in each cell, bordered with 

 light ; the median spots (6-7 on the forewings, 3-5 on the hindwings) are very 

 marked on both wings. The underside of the forewings is both in colour and 

 markings like typical avion, on the whole a little darker, the hind wing shows in 

 both sexes a strong and extended basal dusting of verdigris-green as in cyanecula 

 (Courvoisier). 



Loc. Nariin, from which two or three dozen specimens were received. 



There is a pair in the Brit. Mus. Coll., from the Alexandroffsky 

 Mtns. exactly corresponding to this description. It must be regarded 

 as the local race of South-east Turkestan. It is a very distinct form, 

 and may possibly prove, together with the following, to be a separate 

 species ; on the other hand, the close connection with var. cyanecula, 

 which is certainly a form of avion, is indubitable, and the probabilities 

 are strongly in favour of placing it, as Courvoisier has done, as a local 

 race of the latter. 



(7) var. amurensis, n. var. — Ground colour of all the wings light grey blue, 

 somewhat resembling that of Latiorina orbit id us ; the wings even longer and 

 narrower than those of nariina. The border in both sexes reduced to a thin dark 

 line ; the darkish marginal spots small and ringed with lighter grey, internally on 

 the forewings and on both sides on the hindwings. Forewings with large black 

 spots, forming a macular band in the ? , hindwings with smaller black spots. 

 Underside hindwings with the colouring of cyanecula but rather faint ; spots large 

 on t'ae forewing, small on the hindwing. Fringe spotted. 



In the Brit. Mus. Coll. is a short series from the Amoor district 

 consisting of 3 $ s and 2 $ s (the only specimens from this locality) 

 with the very distinct facies described above. The remarkable ground 

 colour of the upperside is caused by lavender-grey scales with a strong 

 admixture of blackish ones and a few scales of the usual blue of avion. 

 The specimens have somewhat the appearance of having been changed 

 by some chemical action, but a careful examination with a powerful 

 lens has convinced us that this is not the case, the admixture of scales 

 of the ordinary blue coloration rendering this practically impossible." 



Apart from the ground colour, which is common to all, there is 

 considerable variation in detail in the specimens. The marginal spots 

 on the hindwing are obsolescent on the upperside in one $ and obsolete 



* The washed out colour of ab. pallida, le Chamb. (0. infra) points in the 

 same direction, and it is made yet more certain that this colouring is natural by 

 the fact that a specimen of arion has lately been described (ab. grisea, Courv., (v. 

 infra), from the lliviera, in which the colouring is similar. (G.W.) 



