CELASTRINA ARGIOLUS. 397 



spots (including the discoidal) are absent. (4) The metallic greenish-blue irides- 

 cence at the base of the underside of the hindwings is rather fainter and restricted 

 to a smaller area. The transverse row of black spots crossing the forewings of the 

 3 is restricted to four, of which the 3rd is the most developed, the 2nd and 4th 

 being very small and the 1st only a trifle larger. The spot which, in better-marked 

 argiolus, is the 1st, and placed so much nearer the base that the line appears inter- 

 rupted, is absent, and of the two lunular blackish spots, which the examples of the 

 first generation show towards the anal angle of the forewings as a margin to the 

 two lower obsolete eye-spots, only the top one is indicated, and this is placed 

 between the 4th dot and the margin, the lower one, which, in argiolus stands 

 nearest the anal angle, being absent. The number of spots on the underside of the 

 hindwings of the 3 is the same as in argiolus, but in the summer form they are 

 decidedly smaller. The large, black, discoidal streak is, however, more distinct 

 than in the spring 3 s taken locally, but the argiolus from Oberursel show it 

 equally distinct. So muc.h for the 3 . The ? of the summer form has, on the 

 underside of the forewings, a row of five black dots, against the seven of normal 2 

 argiolus. The 1st (upper) dot, placed more towards the base than the remainder, 

 is present, though absent in the 3 , whilst the 2 is without the two small dots, the 

 lowest in the series, which all my 2 argiolus and some of the 3 s exhibit. Of the 

 three lunular marks, which the typical 2 shows between the margin and the row 

 of black dots, there are only faint traces in parvipuncta. The hindwings of this 2 

 exhibit a peculiarity which, being absent in all my argiolus, as well as the summer 

 3 , appears to be a casual aberration exhibited by this particular specimen, viz., 

 that the point in cell 6, which is well-developed in typical argiolus, is not only 

 smaller, but is placed further towards the base than usual. It is true that the 

 position of this spot is variable, but I have seen none with it placed so far towards 

 the base of the wing as in this 2 var. of parvipuncta. Otherwise my 2 parvipuncta 

 follows the 3 and has the spots of the hindwings smaller than in argiolus, 

 those in the basal metallic area also being but feebly indicated. 



Having thus described in detail two chance captures of the summer 

 brood, Fuchs, " although the material before ' him ' is far from 

 complete," is quite prepared to give an opinion, that all the speci- 

 mens of the summer brood carry " the indicated characters." 

 In addition, an especially obsolete form was figured by Bergs- 

 trasser, in 1778, under the name argyphontes {Norn., hi., p. 15, 

 pi. lviii., figs. 5-6) only that it has traces of the marginal lunules. 

 As already noted, the most extreme form in this direction is generally 

 said to be hypoleuca, Koll., which is erroneously stated by Staudinger 

 to have a spotless underside, a character that he observes to be 

 particularly characteristic of Persian specimens, and to also exist as a 

 local race in Cyprus. For the rest it is generally distributed as a 

 rare aberration with the type. Bethune-Baker notes that he only 

 took one example of this species at Guelma, in June, 1897, and 

 that, in this, the spots on the underside were almost obliterated, 

 whilst Lang remarks that the specimens taken in July, 1899, at 

 Vizzavona, had very small spots, and a very light underside. The 

 most strongly-marked example in the opposite direction we know 

 is the aberration described and figured as ab. subtusradiata by 

 Oberthur, Var. chez Lep., pi. iii., fig. 24, and which we have, with the 

 author's permission, reproduced pi. xviii., fig. 10. Briggs exhibited at 

 the meeting of the South London Entomological Society, May 24th, 

 1894, an example of this species, in which some of the spots on the 

 underside were lengthened into streaks, evidently similar to Oberthur's, 

 whilst Courvoisier describes a " forma elongata " (Mitt. Schiv. 

 Ent. Gesell., xi., p. 19), which he notes as generally " having several 

 of the spots of the large curved row on the disc of the underside 

 elongated, a feature much more common on the forewings than on the 

 hindwings, often, however, on all the wings." Blachier notes (in litt.) a 



