MELITAEA SABINA, WRIGHT. 
Dr. John Comstock 
Some time ago I received a number of examples of a Melitaea 
that had been taken in the Chiricahua Mountains of Arizona. In 
endeavoring to identify these I was for some time convinced 
that they represented a new species. The form showed close 
relationship to gabbi, which led me to a consideration of and 
comparison with Wright's Melitaea sabina. This species is 
shown in Wright's plates by an unrecognizable wreck, and the 
author's description is about as incomplete as the picture. A 
typical female was selected from among my series and forwarded 
to the San Francisco Academy of Sciences, where Prof. E. P. 
Van Duzee very kindly compared it with Wright's type. He 
writes me that the species is "certainly the same as M. sabina of 
Wright." I take pleasure, therefore, in giving a detailed de- 
scription of this Melitaea, and figuring three specimens in color. 
Melitaea sabina, W. G. Wright , Butterflies of the West Coast, 
1905. Plate XX, Fig. 181). Our figure, Plate I, Nos. 1, 2, 3. 
Male: Upper Side: Uniform yellow-brown overlaid with black- 
ish lines. 
Primaries: Fringes black at ends of nervules, alternating with 
whitish between. A double marginal line, tending to fuse at 
the apex, and shaded internally. Medial to this, an irregular 
submarginal line extending nearly or quite to inner border. This 
line widens laterally at the juncture of the nervules, thus trans- 
forming the yellow-brown ground color into a submarginal row 
of crescents. Medial to this, the limbal area is crossed antero- 
posteriorly by an incomplete and variable irregular line, widest 
toward the costal margin. The limbal area is bordered medially 
by a heavy black wavy line in the form of a bracket }. The 
anterior (costal) part of this is broad, oblongate; the central 
part swings abruptly inward along the posterior edge of the 
disc; the posterior part swings laterally to its juncture with the 
heavily shaded inner margin. The disc is marked on its outer 
portion by an ovate or irregular spot bordered with black. A 
zigzag line crosses the disc medially, and irregular pencilings 
mark the basal area. 
Secondaries: upper side: Fringes as in primaries. A clearly 
defined marginal double line. The limbral area crossed by two 
fine irregular lines, the outer one inclining laterally at the junc- 
ture of each vein and nervule. These two lines subdivide the 
limbal area into three yellow-brown bands that are interrupted 
by the finely shaded nervules; the outer of these is defined as a 
row of wide crescents; the middle is a trifle darker in ground 
color. The basal area is heavily shaded with blackish scales, 
particularly on its inner aspect; this scaling is irregular in the 
outer part of the area, giving it a blotched appearance. 
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