RUMICIA PHL^IAS. 355 



(3) A specimen, captured in the Isle of Wight, with a small patch of copper 

 with a black spot in it on the underside. This gave me the idea of: a clumsy 

 attempt at patching, but the insect was taken by myself, and, of course, the 

 colouring was quite natural (South). 



[(4) The undersurface of the right hindwing marked by red dashes running 

 from base to exterior margin (Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc, ii., p. 8).] 



(5) Two odd-sided examples, the spots or markings quite different on the two 

 forewings in each case. Erith, September, 1899 (Sabine, Ent., xxxii., p. 284). 



Variation in colour of markings. 



a. ab. hilbneri, n. ab. Phlaeas var., Hb., "Eur. Schmett.," figs. 736-7 (eirc. 

 1805); Humph, and Westd., " Brit. Butts.," pi. xxviii., fig. 8 (1841).— Hiibner 

 figures (736-737) the upperside and underside of an example of phlaeas, in which 

 all the ordinary ruddy ground colour of the fore- and hindwings is coppery, as in 

 the type, but the margin of the forewings is blackish-grey, rather darker towards 

 the apex ; the usual spots are present, but white; whilst the hindwings have the 

 whole of the usual dark parts whitish — the basal, central, and narrow outer- 

 marginal areas — the usual copper hindmarginal band alone being of the normal 

 colour. The underside is similar, all the usual dark parts are pale grey, whilst on 

 the hindwings the basal area is pale, followed by a greyish band, then by the 

 normal copper band, and lastly by a narrow, grey, outer-marginal edging. This 

 figure is, no doubt, that which Humphreys and Westwood have figured (Brit. 

 Butts., pi. xxviii., fig. 8), but they have made the copper colour bright yellow, and 

 .all the rest of the wings (including the spots) white. Barrett refers to this figure 

 {Lep. Brit. Isles, i., p. 63). 



It is amazing that almost all authors, including Staudinger (Cat., 

 2nd ed., p. 9), have referred Hubuer's figures to schmidtii, Gerh., 

 combining them with Esper's figure as the latter form. The form 

 figured is, in fact, exactly the converse, for, whereas in Esper's figure 

 the ground colour is changed to white, and the black spots are normal, 

 in Hubner's figure the spots are changed to white, and the ground 

 colour is normal. Sepp copied Hubner's figure in the frontispiece of 

 the Besch. Ned. Ins., vol. v., bat the colouring is somewhat different. 



/3. ab. webbi, n. ab. — The coppery parts normal ; the spots on forewings sooty ; 

 the other parts replaced by creamy-drab. [This appears to be, in spite of the 

 difference in the choice of colour terms, the specimen described by Barrett (Lep. 

 Brit. Isles, i., p. 63) as having the coppery parts normal ; tbe spots of the forewings 

 of a faint lead-colour ; the usually black margins and hindwings pale yellow.] 



7. ab. infuscata, n. ab. — The coppery parts replaced by pale creamy-drab ; the 

 spots and borders of forewings sooty ; the hindwings darker drab. 



One supposes that the two last named examples described by 



Mosley [Vars. of Brit. Lep., p. 11 (1896)] from the " Webb " collection, 



might almost be referred to the pathological group. He describes 



another example as haviug "the coppery parts normal; the spots 



blackish; the hindwings and margins of forewings drab," which 



appears to fall within the limits of ab. webbi. 



Variation in ground colour. 



a. ab. alba, n. ab. Schmidtii, Snell., " De Vlind.," p. 64 (1867); 

 Staud., "Cat.," 2nd ed., p. 9 (1871); Lang, "Butts, of Europe," p. 

 96, pi. xxii., fig. 1 (1884); Kane, "Eur. Butts.," p. 31 (1885); Barrt., 

 "Lep. Brit. Isles," i., p. 62, pi. ix., fig. 2a (1893); Kiihl, "Pal. Gross- 

 Schmett.," pp. 218, 747 (1895); Tutt, "Brit. Butts.," p. 153 (1896): Obth., 

 " Etudes," etc., p. 12, pi. v., figs. 70-71 (1896) ; Staud., " Cat.," 3rd ed., p. 74 

 (1901); Lamb., "Pap. Belg.," p. 208(1902); Wheeler, "Butts. Switz.," p. 18 

 (1903). Phlaeas var., Esp., " Eur. Schmett.," ii., p. 62, pi. Ix. (contd. x.), fig. 5 

 (1786) ; Stphs., " Illus. Haust.," i., p. 80 (1828) ; Westd., " Brit. Butts.," L, p. 

 94, pi. xxviii., fig. 8 (1841); Newm., "Brit. Butts.," p. 115 (1869).— The 

 usually coppery portions of the fore- and hindwings of a beautiful shiny 

 silvery-white ; the black markings normal. British localities. — Abek- 



