1944] 
Genus Lycceides 
123 
III. Cyanic overlay. 
Upperside, both sexes : structural scales invading the ground 
from the base with more or less vivid violet blue; partly (a) or 
almost completely (b); (a) clothing or dusting only certain 
areas ( i.e ., absent discally, or only empurpling the cretules 
(q.v.) in the female) or reduced to a few scales at the base; (b) 
overlaying the ground evenly or more or less sparsely (i.e., leav- 
ing out minute bald patches and the vadosal elements, q.v.) but 
always keeping clear of the costa in both wings, of most of the 
subcostal area in the hindwing (see further, V, 1 and IV, 5, 6) 
and reaching distad a maximum limit situated at a distance of 
about three scale-lines from the termen (see IV, 4) and less 
sharply defined in the female than in the corresponding male; 
the intensity and tint of the violet blue depending upon the 
density of the scaling producing it, as well as upon the funda- 
mental pigmentation of the wings. 10 Reduced or absent in the 
female considerably more often than in the male, where its com- 
plete absence occurs only in a few races. 
IV. Vadosal elements. 
Racially more or less characteristic portions of fuscous upper- 
side ground inasmuch as they are isolated, defined, and strongly 
pigmented in forms (mainly male) with dense cyanic overlay 
which in its spread distad leaves “dry” or fails to reach always 
three (fourth, fifth, and most of sixth), but often all of the fol- 
lowing ten ground elements: the (1) vadosa proper: a longi- 
tudinal stretch of ground thickly or finely sheathing a vein 
throughout its course (or only terminally: (2) terminal vadosa ), 
often broadening towards its tip (on veins R 4 /Rs/ down to 1A) 
to form there the basally tapering (3) vadosal triangle (in 
shape and position a more or less exaggerated silhouette of the 
corresponding inner triangle q.v. of the underside) which may 
occur independently and which in its turn fuses with (and rep- 
10 Culling at random definitions of these shades from original descriptions of 
Lycceides forms, I find: dull violet, shiny blue, glossy violet blue, silky lilac 
blue, deep purple, hyssop violet, lavender blue, pruinose blue, pinky lilac, violet 
with a pink tinge, and at least two authors have found in their races a greenish 
cast. All these, more or less subjective, color impressions are worthless as racial 
characters unless the combination of the two factors producing the color effect 
(in fresh specimens) be carefully analyzed in comparison with fresh specimens of 
other races (of the same and of different species). 
