320 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



beneatb are greenish at the base ; fringes white ; antennas similar to those of L. 

 arion. Mr. A. G. Butler states that it differs very much from all known forms of 

 avion, its nearest congener. Tbe captor describes its flight as markedly wild and 

 irregular (Melvill). 



Concerning this, Staudinger observes that such aberrations of arion 

 as the above are not so very scarce on the Continent ; that he has, in 

 his own collection, four examples, all differing a little from each other; 

 but all almost destitute of black spots on the upperside ; in one speci- 

 men even the black marginal spots are absent. The disappearance of 

 the spots, especially on the underside, occurs in all the Lycaenids; also 

 the occasional appearance of black spots in species usually destitute of 

 them; e.g., in the var. miegii of Heodes virgaureae, a number of large 

 black spots appear on the upperside ; this also occurs in Chrysophanus 

 hippotlioe, L. (chryseis, Bkh.), and in Latiorina orbitulus from the north 

 of Persia. 



It is probably owing to this blunder of Staudinger's that the name 

 arthiirus has been incorrectly applied by every subsequent author, with 

 the possible exception of Lambillion, who quotes the name without 

 description. It is obvious from the description that the original ab. 

 arthiirus represents the extreme form of obsolescence, the submedian 

 series and the basal spots being quite unrepresented on either side, not 

 only on the underside as apparently supposed by Standinger, and as 

 taken for granted by his copyists. 



(7) ab. parvimacula, Aign.-Ab., "Kovart.-Lapok.," xiv., p. 214(1907). — On 

 the upperside only the discoidal spot distinct, while the four spots only appear in 

 traces or not at all. On the underside of the forewing are often only two spots, on 

 the hindwing, but for the discoidal, only three small spots (Aigner-Abafi). 



This is a somewhat advanced transition towards ab. arthiirus, and 

 has been taken at Budapest and Szaaron, and it is probably to this 

 ab. that Mrs. Nicholl's "almost unmarked specimen" from Kostenec 

 is to be attributed. 



(5) ab. coalescens, Gillm., " Soc. Ent.," xviii., p. 180 (1904) ; Rebel, " Berges 

 Schmett.," 9th ed., p. 75 (19091; Courv., '-Ent. Zeits.," xxiv., p. 203(1910); 

 Seitz, " Gr.-Schmett.," p. 321 (1910). Lachrymosa, Obth., " Lep. Comp.," iv., p. 

 325 (1910). Arion var., H.-Sch., " Sys. Bearb.," i. suppl., pi. cviii., figs. 519, 

 20 (1851) ; vi., p. 25 (1852) ; Gerh., " Mon.," pi. xxxviii., figs. 3a, b (1852).— The 

 black spots of the upperside elongated into thick streaks, and on the underside the 

 central row of spots is narrowly connected with the inner row of ocellated marginal 

 spots (Gillmer). 



This is a magnificent aberration figured by Herrich-SchafTer and 

 copied by Gerhard, in which the spots of the upperside forewings are 

 greatly elongated and those on the hindwings to a less extent. On the 

 underside both the submedian series and the inner spots of the marginal 

 band are produced into points towards each other, which are in some 

 cases joined by very narrow black lines, and in others so nearly that 

 the pale lines surrounding them join into a figure of 8. It is not stated 

 where this aberration was taken. 



Upperside Aberrations. 

 (a) * ab. telegones, Bergs., "Nom.," iii., p. 19, pi. lxi., figs. 7, 8 (1779). — 

 Blue as far as the middle, dull and spotted with black ; on the underside dusty- 



* Mr. Tutt had included certain other of Bergstrasser's forms (telegonus 

 arctophonua and arctophoni) under this species, but as he had applied to me for the 

 final decision on the matter, I have had no compunction in cutting out those which 

 seem to me to belong to other species of the genus (G.W.). 



