200 BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



collection, labelled " Germany — Leech collection," which may be 

 described as : 



a. ab. albofasciata, n. ab. — The whole area, between the white transverse- 

 line of the fore- and hindwings and. the white edging to the inner row of black 

 spots, filled in with white scales, forming a broad white transverse band, made up, 

 on the forewings of six, and on the hindwings of eight, large bine-white, almost 

 oblong patches, owing to the brown nervures subdividing what would otherwise be 

 a continuous band on each wing. The specimen is a ? , and well banded with 

 orange-fulvous on the upperside of all the wings. 



One wonders whether this is the same form as that of which, in 1789, 

 Borkhausen noted (Besch. Eur. Schmett., i., p. 13G) : " There exists 

 an aberration of this species, which, instead of the usual band of 

 white and black dashes, has a blue band running across the four 

 wings ; the orange-coloured band on the hindwings being edged 

 with blue on both sides." It may be so, and the white band 

 may have had a blue tinge when freshly-emerged. Only ono 

 equally interesting underside aberration appears to have been des- 

 cribed or figured. This is Hiibner's remarkable figure, which has 

 the underside of the forewings unicolorous brown, without even the 

 usual median white transverse line, but the hindwings with a white 

 band as just described in ab. albofasciata. This we would call: 



j8. ab. semi-albofasciata, n. ab. Pruni var., Hb., " Beit.," ii., pt. 3, p. 72,. 

 pi. iii., fig. T (circ. 1790). — Papilio pruni, J . This butterfly is in the collection of 

 Herr Gerning, of Frankfort-on-the-Main. It is evidently an aberration cf P. pruni, 

 Linn. It was taken at Frankfort. The ordinary form has repeatedly been figured. 

 The figure which I here give I have made from a drawing by Miss Hochecker ; hence 

 its accuracy is not to be doubted (Hiibner, Beit., ii., pt. 3, p. 72). 



The individual is certainly pruni, although the underside of the fore- 

 wings are entirely brown and there are no other markings thereon ; the 

 bases of the hindwings also are brown ; but the space between the median 

 transverse white line and the edging to a continued black line (which 

 replaces the normal row of black spots on the inner margin of the 

 orange band), is filled in with white, so as to form a complete and 

 continuous median white band. Two of the outside black arches 

 contain a blue spot, one on either side of the base of the tail. 



7. ab. obsoleta, n.ab. — Underside of wings without any white markings what- 

 ever. 



In the ''Mason collection," sold March 14th, 1905, was a specimen of S. 

 pruni without white lines on the underside of the wings (Ent., xxxviii., 

 p. 113). 



Teratological examples. — A ? emerged, in 1890, without antennae 

 (see Nussey, Ent., xxiv., p. 80). 



Egglaying. — The eggs are laid, generally singly or in twos (not 

 touching, but near together), on the main stems of blackthorn, or at 

 the point of junction between a small twig and the main stem. They 

 are generally laid sparingly along the stem, but, in one instance, I 

 found no fewer than 25 eggs laid along a space measuring fin., many 

 of the eggs in this case touching one another ; the eggstage lasts over 

 the winter (Ray nor). The eggs, according to specimens received, are 

 laid on the small stems, very frequently amongst the irregularities, 

 the rough surface of wrinkles, and dormant buds, where the shoots of 

 the year, or, preferably, the shoots of the previous year, arose. Their 

 colour varies, but often, sometimes perhaps from weathering, agrees very 

 closely with the bark around, and, like those of Bithys quercus and 



