368 



BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



records of the capture of the species, e.g., Bird notes that specimens are 

 quite common, with from two to five spots, at Tintern ; Rait- Smith, 

 that they are common at Abertillery ; Carpenter, that they were 

 present in almost all the specimens of a brood reared from eggs laid by 

 a 2 taken at Abbott's Wood ; Sabine, that they are frequent 

 near Dartford ; he captured an example in October, 1901 , with 

 unusually large blue spots, whilst in July, 1903, from the same 

 district, he bred " two dark copper-coloured examples, tinged with 

 purple on the basal half, one of the latter with rather large blue spots 

 on the hindwings." Beadle records them from Keswick, and we have 

 a long series (17) taken at Deal, in August, 1887, showing the range 

 of spotting in the specimens taken that year, and extending from a 

 single scale to four well- developed blue spots. Eaynor observes (in 

 litt.) : "I have two specimens, each with four faint blue spots, bred 

 from eggs found at Brentwood, August, 1891 ; also similar specimens 

 caught at Colchester, September, 1900, and Hunstanton, August, 1899, 

 one with three blue spots at Hazeleigh, September, 16th, 1901 ; several 

 with two blue spots each at Hazeleigh ; and one, with six blue spots, 

 very large and beautiful, taken in north Kent by L. W. Newman, August, 

 1903, is in my cabinet." Dalglish notes its occurrence at Inverglas, 

 September 13th, 1895. Kane observes that examples with more or less 

 blue spots on the hindwings occur in Ireland, and Lowe that the blue- 

 spotted form is frequent in Guernsey. Lambillion states that it occurs 

 occasionally in Belgium. Standen notes that, at Vizzavona, in Corsica, 

 an exceptionally fine form occurs, many of which show a beautiful 

 series of blue dots on the inner margin of the copper band of the hind- 

 wing. Lang observes that the dark form that occurs at Gibraltar has 

 frequently a row of more or less distinct purple spots between the base 

 and the marginal copper band on the hindwings. In Germany, it is 

 not often mentioned, although Gillmer says (in litt.) that it is common, 

 occurring almost everywhere with the type ; it is, however, recorded 

 as occurring near Schwerin and Parchim (Gillmer), and also as 

 found in August along the railway-bank from Hanau to Friedberg 

 (Limpert and Rottelberg), etc. In France, it is noted as occurring 

 in the Hautes-Pyrenees — Gedre (Rondou), Var — Hyeres (Rowland- 

 Brown), whilst R. F. Brown, writing from the Bordeaux district 

 (Le Nat., 1880, p. 180), observes that a small percentage of 

 his captures are spotted with blue, all, however, $ s. It would 

 appear to be a less frequent aberration in North America, and Mans- 

 bridge notes (Proc. Sth. Lond. Ent. Soc, 1894, p. 124) that the examples 

 taken in the " Indian Territory," North America, had no blue spots 

 on the hindwings, otherwise they were like British specimens. The 

 aberration is found in almost all the described forms, so that we may 

 have ab. fasciata-caeruleopimctata, ab. eleus-caeruleopunctata, var. 

 timeus-caeruleopunctata, ab. obsoleta-caeruleopunctata, etc. 



/3. ab. enpreopunctata, n. ab. — With the row of little blue spots frequently found 

 on the inner edge of the coppery-red hindmarginal border of the hindwings, replaced 

 by little coppery-red spots. 



Of this form, Sabine records the capture of examples in September, 

 1899, in the Erith district (Ent., xxxii., p. 284). 



7. ab. subradiata, 11. ab. Phlaeas var. e, Stphs., " Illus. Ilaust.," i., p. 80 

 (1828). — With delicate copper-coloured streaks, extending for a short distance 

 along the nervures from the hindmarginal copper-coloured band towards the base. 



