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Show 884 MR. H. J. ELWES ON THE BUTTERFLIES [Nov. 15, have no male for it or female for T. smaragdina, M . Oberthur having made a mistake when he said that he had males of T. taxila. The species is common in the littoral region of Amurland, and as far up the river as Raddefskaia. I think it also occurs in Yesso; but the specimens from thence are smaller, and do not perfectly agree with those from the mainland. T. smaragdina is easily distinguished in the male sex by the short bar across the underside of fore wing ; but this bar does not seem to be constantly present in the female, which, however, may be known by the colour of the underside. THECLA JAPONICA, Murray, Ent. Mo. Mag. xi. p. 169 (1874). 1 Dipsas taxila, Hew. 111. Diurn. Lep., Supp. p. 16, t. vi. figs. 16, 17. Var. a. $ . T. fasciata, Jans. Cist. Ent. ii. p. 272, t. v. fig. 4 (1878). T. smaragdoides, Staudinger in litt. T. taxila, Oberthur, Et. Ent. v. p. 18 ; ? Bremer, t. viii. fig. 2. Ab B. aurorina, Oberthur, loc. cit. (fiavo-maculata). This species is easily distinguished from T. smaragdina by the darker colour of the underside. The variation of the female has given rise to much confusion in the nomenclature of this insect; but I believe the synonymy above is correct. The females appear to be dimorphic, as, until it can be shown that there is a male different from T. japonica which can be assigned with certainty to T. fasciata, I fail to see the propriety of separating that form, which corresponds very fairly with similar female aberrations in Amurland. M. Oberthiir has females from Askold which, he says, are a perfect transition between the types of T. aurorina and T. fasciata. There is also a form, of which Dr. Staudinger has three males and one female from Vladivostock and Askold, which comes very near T. japonica from Amurland, but which is perhaps only a variety or hybrid between it and T. orientalis, both of which occur in the same localities. Lastly, we have a form separated by Dr. Staudinger as T. SAPHIRINA, Stdgr. MSS., which differs from any of the others in the colour and markings of the underside, in which it is nearest to T. attilia. Of this only one male and two females are known, from the coast-region of Amur-land. T. ORIENTALIS, Murray, Ent. Mo. Mag. ser. 4, x. p. 169 (1875). 1 T. diamantina, Oberthiir, Et. Ent. v. p. 18, t. i. fig. 1 (1880). This species, which is easily distinguished bv its larger size and paler colour, occurs not uncommonly in both Japan and the coast-region of Amurland. Specimens from Askold agree perfectly with Japanese examples. J T. diamantina is considered by Dr. Staudinger a synonym of this species; but the figure of it agrees, I think, more closely with the true I. smaragdina, which I have from Amurland. |