214 
MELITAEA. By M. Gaede. 
north german amelia. Base of hindwings extensively black, yellow-red streaks weak, also outer margin widely 
black. $ more like dictynna, as rows of spots are yellowish and often punctiform. Longish ochreous streaks 
in middle of hindwings or even little pale yellow dots. In the latter case very like dictynna-vernetensis Oberih. 
luciflua. Glarnisch. — At lower levels the species is much paler: luciflua Fruhst. and $ ochre-yellow on upperside with 
sparse black bands. Almost pure white middle bands on underside of hindwings. Lower Valais, Geneva, Jura. 
melida. — melida Fruhst. is like luciflua from Geneva on upperside, but rarely with white middle band on underside 
and throughout darker yellow. Margin on upperside very narrowly black and the submarginal band is often 
missing on both wings. Hindwings with little black at base. Ground colour especially in $ duller than in other 
southern races and thereby like iberica Stgr. (Vol. 1, pi. 67 a). Melide (Lugano). The 2nd generation is darker. 
Other specimens from Tessin more or less form a transition to celadussa from the Maritime Alps or delminia. — 
delminia. delminia Fruhst. (= teriolensis Wagn.) (13 g). Ground colour rich red-brown, post-cliscal area very wide on 
both wings. Hindwings with less black at base than in northern races. Similar to mehadiensis Gerh. (Vol. 1, 
britannica. pi. 66 i) but yellow and red spots and bands on underside of hindwings less intensive. S. Tyrol. — britannica 
Vrty. (= britanna Vrty.). Highly variable. A few pale specimens like those from Central Europe but generally 
larger. All black bands wider, diffuse. Red-yellow marginal lunules smaller, rounder. The space between the 
two dark antemarginal bands appears to be larger, ground colour more reddish, duller. $ darker, sometimes 
however yellowish like italian high altitude forms. S. Devon. In Italy as also in France specimens are found 
punctifera. in hot dry localities in which the black band of hindwings behind the cell is dissolved into spots: punctifera Vrty. 
celadussa. - celadussa Fruhst. Large. Brown patches large. With wide yellow middle bands on underside of hindwings, 
on the other hand submarginal band reduced. Maritime Alps. - On italian territory celadussa occurs, but at 
Turin it is replaced by a small dark race, similar to amelia Nick, and is only recognisable thereby that it flies 
aureliae- concurrently with genuine athalia : aureliaeformis Vrty. (25 — 28 mm). The yellow-reel colour is dull, often 
re( j a ( so f a ( n t rusty coloured spots on underside have yellow centres with reddish hue. — On Elba and again in 
maxima far away Calabria a large race occurs: maxima Trti. Ground colour fiery yellow-red, extensive black markings 
especially at margin. Hindwings bright yellowish on underside. In a few specimens from Elba the yellow-red 
berisali- marginal lunules are as reduced as in dejone-berisali Ruhl (Vol. 1, pi. 66 i), they are named berisaliformis Vrty. 
- Other specimens among maxima have as few black bands as normally occur in specimens from the hills 
dejone- around Florence: dejoneformis Vrty. — Finally in some $ and $ the middle band of forewings is wide: atrovittata 
atrovittata ' Trti. <b Vrty., in other it is quite absent: evittata Vrty. And all this on little Elba! — In describing these 
evittata. forms the long out-of-date name cymothoe Bart, has been revived also for navarina Selys. — magna Seitz (Vol. 1, 
pi. 66 i) and nevadensis Oberih. occur according to Verity not alone in Spain, but also in Italy. These nevadensis 
were originally described as a form of dejone which Oberthur later on allotted to athalia. As there is already 
a parthenie-nevadensis Spul., Verity alters this name into dejoneformis. There are no particulars as to locality 
tenuis, of magna in Italy. —In the italian peninsular and also in Spain, but typical of Florence we have: tenuis Vrty. 
$ 27 — 34 mm, $ 33 — 36 mm. A mixed race among which also typical athalia and similarly such like dejoneformis, 
mehadiensis, magna and iberica occur. More richly coloured with yellow-red than Mid-European specimens. 
The black marking thinner, often more like dejone or parthenie than athalia. At higher altitude the race becomes 
tenuicula. smaller: tenuicula Vrty., typical of Mount Sibillini, 1200 m. It is fairly like nevadensis ( dejoneformis ). — Also 
parthenides. parthenie-varissima Vrty. occurs there and there are transition forms; parthenides Vrty. Upperside like athalia, 
athalides. underside of forewings with black marking extinct like parthenie, and athalides Vrty., upperside like parthenie 
but inner margin of upperside of hindwings quite light yellow-red. — $ from there have sometimes elongated 
wings, fringes long, alternately pure white and blackish, like parthenie, but with straw-yellow colouration on 
paleatincta. upperside: paleatincta Vrty. - In other localities we have the following subforms of tenuis-, atrovittata Trti. do 
^aterrhne Vrty. with very wide and deep black middle band of forewings, Valdieri, also similar from Elba; and aterrinie- 
vittata. vittata Vrty. in which this band covers % °f width of wings. The band adjoining inside touches it, the 3 
submaxima, following remain separated. Caserta. submaxima Vrty. represents maxima in damp regions along the coast. 
It is smaller, not qiute such a fiery yellow-red, not so heavily marked with black as obscura Vrty. from Calabria. 
The 2nd generation to same is tenuis Vrty. Lucca. In S. Italy and Sicily tenuis is also found in the plains, 
although in consequence of the hotter climate there it should develop an altitude form. Instead of this a larger 
race is indicated from Aspromonte in 1200 m altitude of deep reddish colouration with extensive black markings, 
obscura. especially in $ at base of wings: obscura Vrty. — Specimens that on the contrary are paler on both wings, 
rhodoleuca. whitish-yellow at base to middle of wings are named: rhodoleuea Stdr. Cosenza. In the Madonie Mountains 
sicula. in Sicily we find sicula Trti. like luciflua from Geneva, but it is darker on underside, the $, according to Ober¬ 
thur, is very pale, dusted with blackish-green, so that it becomes like parthenie. Verity states as the differences 
between athalia and parthenie that the inner margin at anal angle of hindwing is partially yellow-red in athalia, 
whilst in parthenie it is always quite black, so that where the races occur concurrently they are fairly easy to 
scardona. classify. — On the other shores of the Adriatic we find in Agram scardona Fruhst. (13 g). Similar in size to 
celadussa from the Maritime Alps. Wings longer and more pointed. Black outer margin of both wings wider. 
There and at base of hindwings only sparse yellow spots. Underside more uniform, with darker yellow-brown 
limera. bands and thereby separable from the pale mehadiensis. Agram. limera Fruhst. (13 g) closely resembles 
scardona. Can be differentiated on upperside by very regular and small spots on forewings almost always 
