THE SILVER-STUDDED BLUE 
217 
Male. (Upper Side.) The ground colour is light bluish- 
violet ; the fore wing is finely outlined with white ; the outer 
marginal band is black ; the hind wing is completely margined 
with a black border enclosing an obscure series of deep black 
marginal spots ; the fringes are white, 
(Under Side.) The ground colour of the male is ashy-grey 
inclining to pale drab ; the base of the wings is a light pearl- 
blue. In the fore wing there is a white-ringed black spot at 
the end of the cell; between this and the margin is a curved 
transverse series of similar spots, then a faint pale band and 
a double row of faint blackish spots edged with white, and 
divided by a row of obscure orange spots. The margin is 
outlined with black. The hind wing 
is somewhat similar to fhe fore wing, 
but has an additional row of from two 
to four basal spots, and a distinct 
white band between the median 
series of spots and the sub-marginal 
orange band, the latter being inwardly 
edged with black crescents and out¬ 
wardly with black spots with brilliant 
metallic silver-blue centres, whence 
the popular name. 
Female. (Upper Side.) The female 
is a deep bronze-brown, with a mar¬ 
ginal series of black spots edged in¬ 
wardly with orange crescents ; these are more or less developed 
on both fore and hind wings; the basal area of the wings is 
powdered with light violet scales. 
(Under Side.) The under side of the female is a pale 
ochreous-brown. The pattern is similar to that of the male, 
but there is an orange sub-marginal band on the fore wing 
similar to that on the hind wing. All the spots are usually 
larger and clearly encircled with white. 
Life of Imago. Probably does not exceed twenty-one days. 
Aberration. P. aegon is liable to considerable aberration as 
regards the blue scaling in the female. In some, the greater 
part of the wings is heavily suffused with male colouring ; this 
form is ab. Corsica and is frequent in certain localities. The 
males occurring on chalky soils are of a paler blue and the 
The Silver-studded Blue. 
Sketched from life. 
