232 



ARGYROPHORUS. By G. Weymee. 



Forewing without eye-sjjots or with 1 or 2 black ones, sometimes white-pupilled, hinchving without oceHi. 

 Hindwing beneath ochre-yellow, marbled with grey and black-brown. ]\Iedian band darker, bordered at each 

 side by a Ught grej', sometimes darker band. Veins not dusted with M'hitc. Sometimes, however, the marbUng 

 assiniilh. of the hindwmg is so much darkened as to obhterate the median band (assimilis Btlr.). — The egg is similar 

 to that of juffa.hnt the ribs on the surface are finer. The larva is ochreous grej', with darker and lighter longi- 

 tuduaal stripes and rows of black spots. Locahties: Newfomidland, Labrador, Alaska. Occurs also in North 

 Asia (cf. vol. I, p. 120, pi. 40 f, under "crambis"). 



semidca. 0. semidea Say. (50 g). The q is unicolorous grej^-brown above, the $ dark brown with darker mar- 



ginal line, chequered fringes and small dark brown spots at the margin of the hindwing. The body is black- 

 brown, the club of the antenna red-brown. The forewing beneath is brownish grey, towards the apex marbled 

 with dark brown and whitish grey. The hindwing beneath is brown, marbled with dark brown in the basal 

 and median areas, only the marginal area is marbled with whitish grey and brown, at the distal margin darker- 

 spotted. — The egg is rather irregularly ribbed, grey-white, with silkj' gloss. The larva light green or yellow- 

 brown with dark transverse shades on each segment and rows of blackish dots at the sides and on the back. 

 Pupa black-broA\'n with yellow-broA^m abdomen. The butterfty flies on rocky mountains, locally in large numbers, 

 as on the peak of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire, also m Colorado and Labrador. 



brucei. 0. brucei Edw. (50 g) approaches semidea. It is, however, much more thinly scaled and hence semitrans- 



parent. Above like semidea, the under surface of the forewmg also as in this. But the under surface of the 

 hindwing is much lighter, the basal area has a whitish grey ground-colour, the median band stands out distinctly 

 and the bro\^ii lines bordering it arc outcurved at the costal margin (which is not the case in semidea). — The 

 larva is ochre-j^ellow, shaded with bro^^■nish, with rows of darker dots. Pupa obtuse with the head truncate 

 (much as in semidea and uMeri, but less than in jutta). The butterfly fhes on grassy mountain slopes from 

 the end of June to August, local. (Not on rocky peaks like semidea.) It is found in Colorado at elevations of 

 12 to 14 000 ft., in the Canadian province of Alberta at 8 to 9000 ft. 



hpani. 0. beani Elw. Likewise similar to semidea and thinly scaled. Above unicolorous light smoke-brown, 



the costal margin very narro^^lj' hght grey, dusted with black. The scent-scale stripe of the ^^ indistinct. 

 Beneath the forewing is as above, but the costal margin narrowly and the apex broadly light grey, dusted 

 with dark brown. The hind^^ing is light grey, densely dusted with black-brown without any trace of a band. 

 Fringes chequered. Palpus entirely black. In the $ the hindtibia is thickened and at its extremity curved in- 

 wards. Found on rocky j^eaks near Laggan in Alberta at 8000 — 9000 ft. 



kaiaMin. 0. katahditi Neiccomb (50 g). Above dark-brown, the distal third of the wings j^eUowish brown with 



blackish marginal line, fringes chequered with hght and dark brown. A small black, white-pupilled spot before 

 the apex of the forewmg. Sometimes 3 or 4 such spots are present on the forewing, sometimes again all are 

 absent. The scent-scale spot is faintly visible. Beneath the forewmg is as above, but paler, costa and ajjex dotted 

 with brown. The hindwing beneath has an irregular brown band through the middle, which is at first bordered 

 with black, then with grey. The $ has the light brown colouring of the distal margm on the upperside more 

 definite and usually 2 or 3 ej^e-spots. There is also a row of 5 whitish spots before the distal margin on the 

 underside of the hindwmg. The butterfly fhes on Mt. Katahdin in Maine at altitudes of 4250 — 5000 ft., at 

 the end of June. 



daura. 0. daura Streck. has been described from a single example, which was taken bj' Morrison on Mt. 



Graham in Arizona. It is similar to the Siberian fulla Eversm. (cf. vol. I, p. 119, pi. 40 d), of a whitish ochre- 

 yeUow ground-colour (hke ivalida |^50f]) with an angled brown median line and 3 small black spots, the first 

 pupilled on the forewing. HindAving at the margin broadly hghter and with a black dot in cellule 2. Fringes 

 cheqiiered. Beneath the hindwing is almost white, very finelj' and weakly marbled, with a somewhat darker, 

 sharply defined median band. From Arizona. 



21. Genus: Argyroplioriis Blanch. 



This genus is easily recognized by the dense silver gloss which almost entirely covers the wings above 

 and beneath, or at least the upperside of the forewmg. The costal and median are strongly mflated at the base. 

 The upper discocellular of the hindwing is rather short. The wings are broader and less elongated than in Oeneis, 

 the distal margin more rounded, the palpus less hairy. The anteiuia has the club comparatively short and thick. 

 Although the butterflies do not even reach medium size, the first species is one of the most striking insects in 

 the American fauna. 



argciitms. A. argentcus Blanch. (51a). Above entirely glossy silver-white without markings, fringes broAvn, body 



brown with white hau's. Forewing beneath hkewise silA-erj- white, the cell dusted with reddish yellow, with a 

 small, roimd black spot before the apex, which in the v contains a white central dot. Imier margin grey, fringes 

 brown. Hindwing silver-white, basal half dusted with brownish white, with brown spots between, but with aJl 



