i68 
NYMPHALIDAE 
plain, being only slightly sprinkled with dusky specks ; while 
others have the bands densely speckled with black, similar 
to the North American form. The blue spots also vary much 
in size, and are of two distinct hues; the usual colour is a 
bright, light and rather metallic blue ; in some they are clear 
metallic lilac, and in others a lilac-blue. 
Life of Imago. The life of this lovely butterfly extends 
over ten months. One of four females (captured at Hyeres, 
France, after hibernation) I kept alive until June 30th, being 
in captivity exactly three months. 
Aberration. Occasionally are found aberrations having the 
marginal bands much broader and the blue spots almost or 
entirely absent. Other specimens have the blue spots greatly 
enlarged and the black band on which they are placed is of 
much greater width. But such aberrations are rare in a 
wild state, and no such example occurred in some 2,000 
specimens I bred under natural conditions. 
