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
line, proximal to base. In athalia, the situation of spots 4 and 5, as related to 6, similar to britomartis but their base, resting on the margin, is more broad, generally arched, though we have met with specimens in which these ended sharply. The situation and shapes of these spots are given in figs. VIII/7 —9, A s s m a n n, in his description of britomartis, laid special stress on the characters resembling diamina, which evidently occur rather strongly marked in the Silesian race. These characters are almost absent in our britomartis, with the exception of the specimens from the Southern Transdanubium. In the other specimens, from all other parts of the country, the underside of the hindwings are more or less uniformly colored and, in our estimation, they are individually aberrant specimens only, in which the characters resembling diamina present themselves, yet these also not together but one or two of them and in no extreme way. This is the cause why these specimens resemble parthenie. Of course, individual aberrations are numerous, but one may find localized, populational deviations, too. Paying attention to all points of view, the following chief groups can be distinguished : 1. Southern Transdanubial group, Kaposvár and environment (Töröcske). Alar expanse of males 29—33 mm, females 32—36 mm (one specimen exceptionally 28 mm). Margin of forewings obliquely inwards, rounded in tornus. Ground color of males of a russet tint with a yellowish shade, moderately bright. Females more dull, stronger yellowish. A characteristical feature of the forewings is that the spots of the first brown row are broad, elliptical, not round, approaching more (by their extension) the premarginal, that is, the second row of spots (Fig. VII-I/10). The underside is rather mottled, displaying sometimes characters resembling the nominate form of britomartis: The spots in the areas between the streaks on the underside of the hindwings have a strong tendency to whiten, the same as the spots in the area between the third row and the margin. The single waves of the undulating black line dividing the third streak intrude deeply between the veins basally, and are of a distinct mitre shape (Fig. VIII/3). The part of the third row basally of the dividing line is only rarely brown in its whole length, usually only the first two spots under the costa are of a light brown color, the others are yellowish-brown, indeed, sometimes yellow. In the triangular spot, the dividing line is occasionally absent, but its two parts are even then bicolorous ; the inner yellow (and not orange), the outer white. The black lines on the underside of the hindwings are fine and sharp. The characteristical black spots of diamina are absent from the marginal part of the third streak, with at least their marginal area embraced by the »capillary« lines (Verity), usually of a darker yellow shade. This group, in certain characters, resembles the nominate form, — in others, ssp. melathalia Rocci, described from Northern Italy ; but identical with none. It deviates from the first in that the diamina-like characters are present only in portions, and in the shape of the first row of spots. From the second, that is has no melanistic tendencies, its margin is not vertical, having some diamina-like characters. If we take yet the particularly narrow shape of the uncus (which- in melathalia Rocci, according to Fig. 317, Table 13 of V e r i t y's book, cited above, is broad), it becomes inevitable that we have to do here with a distinct geographical variation, to be named hereafter M. britomartis ssp. kaposensis ssp. n.
