LYCAENA. ARION. 815 



says that he has specimens from Yernet-les-Bains quite of this 

 variety, though the usual form of the Pyrenees Orientales is smaller 

 and darker than the average, he also has a J from Entrevaux quite of 

 this form, though side by side with it occur extremely dark specimens. 

 The Corsican specimens from Saint-Pierre-de-Venaco are also, on the 

 same authority, to be placed here. 



(j3) var. arcina, Friihst., "Int. Ent. Zeits.," iv., p. 55 (1910). — We have in the 

 neighbourhood of Geneva a splendid transition to the geographical race of the 

 Italian Riviera, described by Wagner as ligurica, which I may call arcina, after its 

 locality at the " Perte du Rhone." Arcina is considerably larger than the & and 

 ? from the Harz Mountains and Upper Bavaria, with a light blue shining ground 

 colour on the upper side which calls to mind ligurica ; the j almost without black 

 discal spots, the ? , with sharply defined median spots on a whitish-blue ground, 

 as in ligurica. Underside paler than German examples ; the black median spots 

 larger, without reaching the size of the spots of ligurica (Friihstorfer). 



Loc. Chancy near Geneva, Eclepens, Veyrier. 



This is a fine bright form, but has no claim to be called a " sub- 

 species," the title attached to the original description ; it is not even 

 strictly a local race, since many specimens occur on the same ground 

 of quite ordinary lowland form. It is, however, correctly described as 

 a transition to ligurica. 



(y) var. laranda, Friihst., " Int. Ent. Zeits.," iv., p. 55 (1910). — Near the 

 alpine subspecies obscura, Christ, but considerably larger. . . . Examples with 

 entirely black upperside, such as I have found of obscura, seem never to occur in 

 laranda ; the shining blue surface, of a lighter and more intensely lustrous blue, 

 generally extends as far as a narrow, sharply defined bordering line. The under- 

 side is characterised by the more pronounced black spots, especially on the disc of 

 the forewings, and by the lighter grey ground colour. Laranda might well stand 

 as the largest race of European Lycaenids (Friihstorfer). 



Loc. South Tyrol, the neighbourhood of Klausen and Atzwang. 



It is impossible to guess in what respect this form approaches 

 obscura, since the description flatly contradicts every peculiarity of the 

 latter. It is large instead of small, peculiarly bright blue, with a 

 narrow border instead of being very broadly suffused with black, and 

 has a light grey underside instead of a dark one. Its claim to be 

 regarded as a " sub-species " rests on 2 J s and 3 $ s taken in July, 

 1904! 



(5) ab. magnified, Heyd., " Ent. Zeits." xxiiL, p. 177 (1910) ; Friihst., "Int. 

 Ent. Zeit.," iv. p. 55 (1910). — Distinguished not only by its size, but also by the 

 remarkably blue tone of its upperside, and the enlargement of the eye-spots on the 



underside All the wings rather broader and rounder. Upperside 



dark blue, with a band 5mm. broad ; fringes snowy white ; large deep black spots 

 (Heydemann). 



Friihstorfer says that this is only a specially fine example of his 

 laranda, and that he would have accepted the name were it not that 

 it is not available for a subspecies (as he calls laranda), being already 

 the name of another species of Lycaena, that which was later named 

 superba by Staudinger, Grum-Grshimailo's name should certainly 

 stand for this latter, as it has a two year's priority and there 

 is really no doubt as to the species to which it was given. This 

 would not, in our view, invalidate the name for a variety of arion, and 

 we here retain it, the difference in the border on the upperside, which 

 in laranda is narrow and in rnagnitiea 5mm. in breadth, would make 

 the latter an ab. of the former variety. 



(e) ab. punctifera, Grund, "Int. Ent. Zeits.," ii., p. 87 (1908). Arion, ab., 

 Bohatsch, "Jahresb. Wien. Ent. Ver.," xi., p. 34 (1892).— I designate as ab. 



