ARGYNNIS. By H. Fruhstorfer. 
515 
in the postdiscal row arc pupilled with white, the subterminal row of crescents is distal!y studded with white 
dots; cilia brillant while. Chitral. — taldena subsp. nov., originally from the Palaearctic Region, resembles 
much more the European aglaja than bessa Fruhst. from western China which latter is figured in Vol. 1 , pi. 69. 
But whereas bessa is a large, light-coloured form, with the basal spots on the under surface of the h. w. very 
elongate and pointed and the black patches above of extraordinary size, in taldena the spots are very small 
and the under surface shows the usual circular silvery spots upon a pale grass-green ground; but on the h. w. 
the brown-yellow submarginal area is equally narrow as in bessa. From near Ta-tsien-lu in Setchuan. 
A. adippe is known in the Indian Region in two forms: jainadeva Moore (Vol. 1, p. 238, pi. 69f), locally 
common in Kunawur, generally found together with A. kamala Moore. It flies from May until November on 
grassy hills devoid of trees and shrubs. Occurs also in Cashmere and the Kumaon Himalayas; specimens from 
Kulu in my coll. It is known to occur at elevations of from 9 — 17 000 ft. - mohmandorum subsp. nov. is 
considerably larger than jainadeva and, analogous to aglaja taldena, much darker above. From the North- 
West Province at the Afghan border. We have to add here to the forms 'from Eastern Asia, described in 
Vol. 1 , several others which are newly discovered: riickerti Fruhst. from near Tshifoo, without any doubt 
closely related to jainadeva Moore, but larger in size and above chiefly black, with flesh-coloured, square 
intranerval spots on the f. w.; the h. w. are blue-black with fawn-coloured, submarginal patches and a median 
band composed of ochre-yellow spots. The under surface is adorned by a conspicuous submarginal row of 
large, black dots, not unlike nerippe. — zarewna subsp. nov. is a very small form, closely approaching the 
European Alpine form of adippe. cF above dark ochre-yellow, ? basally more dusky than ?? from the Alps. 
Reneath it resembles xanthodippe (Vol. 1 , pi. 69 e). From Irkutsk. — garcila subsp. nov. is the other extreme, 
being a very pale form, cF above almost brown-yellow, delicately dotted with black. ? unicolorous pale 
oclme-yellow, not obscured at the base. Occurs in southern Russia; type came from Saratow on the Wolga. 
A. hyperbius has a great tendency to migrate, being found at elevations of above 4000 ft throughout 
the Tropical and Subtropical Regions, from Abyssinia to Australia and from southern Japan to the Malay 
Archipelago. In India and the tropics one generation succeeds the other; in the north, where it. descends also 
to the lower plains, they only breed in summer, but occasionally specimens have been taken at. Nagasaki as 
early as March. In Tsushima I only encountered it at the end of September, when it was very common in 
the village-gardens; near Hongkong it is found in the “Happy Valley'’. The cF is, in contrast with the ?, a rest¬ 
less, rapid flier. — hyperbius Joh. (= niphe, Vol. 1, pi. 71c, d) has among all known forms the widest range; 
all the specimens found on the mainland may be referred to it. We known ?$ with a narrow white band 
on f. w., as is shown in the figure in Vol, I, and others in which this band is nearly twice as broad, both 
occurring together in China and Japan. The specimens collected by me in Tonkin, on the grassy slopes of the 
Man-Son Mountains, at elevations of from 1600—2500 ft., do not. differ from those obtained from Formosa or 
Hongkong. In the north-western Himalayas there exist two seasonal forms, the one found in April being rather 
inferior in size to the one found in June. In India it ranges from Bombay to Burmah; in Sikkim it is, up to 
elevations of 1000 ft., quite common wherever the wild violet, thrives, especially in the tea-gardens and clearings 
in the woods. In China it occurs wherever A. children! caesarea Fruhst. is found. The ? resembles somewhat 
Danais plexippus , clirysippus and Cetliosia biblis. Also hermaphrodites have been observed, likewise a melanotic 
aberration: aruna Moore which has been described from northern India, is above distinguished by the fact that 
the black patches found on both wings and on the underside of the f. w., unite to form a sort of band, and 
that the basal half of the h. w. is nearly white, bordered by a blackish, submarginal zone. — castesti Oberth. 
is a dwarfed form from southern India; type came from Trichinopolis; quite abundant in the Nilgiris. In this 
form the cFcF resemble the ?? (cf. Vol. I, p. 242). — taprobana Moore. A rather dark form; cF above deeper 
fulvous with larger black dots. In ? the bands on the under surface are more red-brown than greenish. 
Rather common in the mountains near Nuwara-Elliya, occasionally also found in the lower plains. Some stray 
specimens have been taken in the Maidive Islands. — sumatrensis Fruhst. (File). Although an insular form, 
the upper surface of both wings is pale yellow; also the ?? are of a lighter colour than those from the 
continent. The white patch on the f. w. is relatively broad. Beneath it resembles hyperbius. Confined to the 
high table-land, where it. is one of the most common and characteristic butterflies, preferring the extensive, 
tree-less Lalang-Savannahs, where it generally frequents the roads, resting with folded wings in the manner 
of the European A. lathonia L. The ? is much rarer than the cF, about as 1:10. Occasionally stray cFcF are 
driven by the wind to the low-lands of Deli. My coll, contains also specimens from the Highlands of Padang, in 
western Sumalra. Although hitherto hyperbius is not known from the Malay Peninsula, it is to be expected that 
it does exist there in some form analogous to sumatrensis. — Javanica Oberth. is inferior in size to suma¬ 
trensis, which it resembles in cF above; beneath it is distinguished by the lack of the fulvous bands whose 
place is taken by patches and spots of greenish colour. The dark red colouring of the upper surface of ? 
recalls much more the Indian type, but the white area on the f. w. is broader and the silvery ornamentation 
of the under surface of the h. w. is much richer. Found in eastern and western Java, at altitudes of from 
4—5000 ft, generally together with Cetliosia penthesilea Cr. which it highly resembles in the ?. javanica 
taldena. 
adippe. 
jainadeva. 
mohman¬ 
dorum. 
riickerti. 
zarewna. 
garcila. 
hyperbius. 
aruna. 
castetsi. 
taprobana. 
sumatrensis. 
javanica. 
