Boros István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 5. (Budapest 1954)

Issekutz, L. ; Kovács, L.: Melitaea britomartis Assmann, with special regard to its occurrence in Hungary

is generally of good service, but not valid in every case. In the case of such intermediate specimens we have always relied on genitalic examinations. For the base of our detailed examinations we have selected the paper of Verity on the athalia group of the genus Melitaea. This work took into account not only every other paper published hitherto in this regard, but summed up its material systematically and very comprehensively, illuminating its theme by numerous figures. So, for instance, also the differences in the copulatory organs of the three species. Of course, we have referred to every relevant item of literature, primarily to the original descriptions of the britomartis races. For our detailed examinations we had use of five Hungarian collections. In aspect of collecting localities, the material of the Hungarian Natural History Museum is the richest, having not only inland material but foreign, too. The other collections, taken into account, were those of Fabricius, Gergely, Issekutz, and L. Kovács, preserving britomartis material from our country. Copulatory organs For the sake of comparison, slides were made of all three species. On the examination of the preparations, we rest content that they give sure and faultless fundamentals for the separation of the three species, in regard also of the Hungarian material. The Uncus of athalia is always longer and more slender than even the longest britomartis uncus, though also other details prove unquestionably the distinctness of the two species. So, the Tegumen of athalia, of a trapezoid shape, is always lower with a well observable protrusion on both its sides, whilst the tegumen of britomartis is high, with a wavy, unprotruding margin. In the same way, constant differences are displayed in the Processus Posterior ; namely, that of athalia ends in long, sharp thorns, while the extreme thorn of britomartis broadens, carrying two or more variously shaped teeth. An unmistakable difference can be seen in the shape of the Valva and the Aedoeagus, too. The tegumen of parthenie is always broad and low, its uncus is absent, hence no other details are necessary for its separation from britomartis. In the possession of the slides, the britomartis and parthenie specimens from the Central Mountains could be separated without remains. Of Hungarian britomartis specimens, 34 male slides were made. Four specimens are from the Southern Transdanubium, eleven others from other Transdanubial localities, and nineteen from the eastern parts of the Central Mountains. The britomartis preparations generally corresponded in every character to the data found in literature. In the course of the detailed examinations, we have, first of all, established the fact that of the two britomartis race-groups erected by V e r i t y the Hungarian specimens, as every other European britomartis, belong to the second one, in which the valvae are round, the processus posterior is less broad, the tegumen is longer, more trapezoidal, the uncus narrow. Some individual differences may be found in the male organs, but these are so slight that they do not alter the general picture. Minute examinations of the slighter deviations show, however, that there exist differences which could not be held any more as individual aberrations, since they occurred constantly and unconditionally in connection with certain definite collecting localities. These locally determined and constant differences of the copulatory organs occur, as will be seen later, in connection with locally peculiar external characters, wherefore they deserve a more detailed treatment. Local specialities in the sexual organs could be established partly in the shape of the uncus, partly in the shape of the processus posterior.