326 ' BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



This differs from telegone only by being larger with slightly broader 

 margins and heavier spotting, and by the absence of a basal spot on 

 the underside of the forewing. Possibly Courvoisier's name ab. im- 

 puncta should have been sunk, in this species, as a synonym of telehis, 

 regarding the upperside of this form as equivalent to telegone. It 

 is, however, so large and the border so broad that it rather seems to be 

 an impuncta aberration of the larger alpine form which we have named 

 obscura-major, and consequently we place it rather among the underside 

 aberrations. The aberration figured by Herrich-Schaffer (Sys. Beavb., 

 i.,suppl.,pl.cviii.,figs. 519, 20) and copied by Gerhard (ili r o??.,pl.xxxviii.^ 

 figs, a, b) is rather an impuncta form of telegone than an illustration of 

 teleius. Bergstrasser observes, somewhat fretfully as it seems to us, 

 that his teleiits has been taken for a form of avion ; his point of view 

 may be explained by a reference to his original figure of avion (Nom. r 

 ii., pi. xxiv., fig. 4) which is, we believe, a mythical insect, very dark and 

 heavily spotted, yet with the marginal spots of the hindwing edged 

 with snowy white, and with hindwings of a shape which would suggest 

 a hybrid between this species and P. meleager, in spite of a golden 

 yellow costa to the forewings which belongs to neither. 



(i) ab. antico-obsoleta, n.ab. Avion var., Kill., " Ins. Graub.," p. 22 (1886). 

 — Absence of the submedian series of spots from the underside forewing only. 



Killias reports this aberration from Flims in the Grisons where it 

 appears to recur. We have found no example of the opposite form 

 which in other species we have called ab. postevo-obwleta, which is not 

 surprising, considering the rarity of examples of this species in which 

 any part of the submedian row is absent on the underside of the 

 hindwings. 



(k) subtus-impmictata, Obth., "Etudes," xx., p. 15, pi. iii., fig. 20 (1896);. 

 " Lep. Comp.," iv., p. 325 (1910). Artharus, Gillm., " Soc. Ent.," xviii., p. 180' 

 (1904) ; Krod., " Allg. Zeit. Ent.," ix., p. 52 (1904) ; Rebel, "Berges Schmett.," 

 9th ed M p. 75 (1909) ; Cour., "Ent. Zeits.," xxiv., p. 203 (1910) ; Seitz, " Gr.- 

 Schrnett.," p. 321 (1910). — Specimens in which the black spots below are obliterated. 

 (Oberthiir). 



The plate shows a specimen in which only the discoidals and the 

 marginal spots remain on the underside. The specimen in question 

 was taken at Vernet-les-Bains, but similar examples are reported from 

 many places. That mentioned by Krodel is of the obscuva form, and 

 was taken at Preda, on the Albula Pass, by Franz, July 18th, 1901. 



Egg-laying. — The ? s insert their eggs somewhat deeply among 

 the clusters of buds of thyme, the buds being chosen so that the hatch- 

 ing of the eggs and the opening of the buds should be contemporaneous. 

 They are nearly always placed singly, only one exception being noticed 

 (Farn). Appear to be laid on the calyces of the buds, between the 

 heads of the flowers, a few on the stems and on the corollas of the 

 flowers (Buckler). The £ appears to choose for egg-laying those 

 thyme plants that are growing on the nests of Formica flora for ovi- 

 position, several ? s being watched between July 5th and 17th, 1902, 

 were seen to lay their eggs on thyme blossom growing out of the top 

 of an ant-hill, and others on the thyme-blossoms of plants growing on 

 turf-walls where ants were also in abundance ; of course £ s will lay 

 their eggs in confinement on plants where there is certainly no connec- 

 tion between the plant and an ant-infested district. Eggs are noted 

 as having been laid on June 28th, 1858, on July 6th, 8th, 1865, a few 

 days before July 1st, 1872, June 24th, 1873, and July 6th, 22nd, 1875. 



