( 183 ) 
V. 0)1 the Butterflies of Bulgaria. By Henry John 
Elwes, F.R.S., F.L.S., etc. 
[Read April 4th, 1900.] 
Plate IV. 
No country in Europe has been so little explored from an 
entomological point of view as the great central mountain 
range which forms the southern frontier between East 
Rumelia, Bulgaria and Macedonia, and is known at its 
northern end in Turkish as the Rilo Dagh, or in the Sclav, 
languages as Rilo Planina, and fartlier south and east as the 
Rliodope Mountains, or Despoto Dagli. 
As far as I know the only collector of Lepidoptera who 
has ever been there is Herr Josef Haberhauer, who in 1801 
and 1862 collected in the Balkans, and whose collections 
are described by Lederer in the Wiener Monatschrift, 1863, 
p. 17. Haberhauer has for the last few years resided at 
Slivno in East Rumelia and has collected in that neigh- 
bourhood, but has published no catalogue of the Lepidop- 
tera. He made a short trip to the Rilo Dagh about twenty- 
five years ago, but no account of what he collected there 
has been published, and he has now little recollection of 
what he found. Thirty years ago I made my first expe- 
dition to Bulgaria as an ornithologist, and published a 
catalogue of the birds of Turkey in conjunctiun with Mr. 
T. E. Buckley (Ibis, 1870, pp. 59 ct scq.). When this year I 
found that Mrs. NichoU, whose ardour in the pursuit of 
butterflies has been well shown by her recent journeys in 
Spain and Bosnia, was willing to join me I determined to 
revisit the country. As, however, I was unable to leave 
England till the middle of June, Mrs. NichoU spent a 
fortnight with Herr Haberhauer at Slivno, and made a 
short trip to Rilo Monastir before I arrived at Sofia.* As 
I knew from former experience that camping out was 
the only way in which the higher mountains could be 
explored with any comfort wo took tents and camp outfit 
from Eugland, and though there are villages at the foot 
* Mrs. NiclioU has given a good account of the journey in the 
Entomologist's Record for February and March 1900. 
TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1900. — PART II. (JuLY) Vo 
184 Mr. H. J. Elwes on the 
of tlie mountains where food can be j)rocnred, it is a 
very much more agreeable way of collecting Alpine 
species to be on the ground than to have to ride some 
hours daily over bad mountain paths and to put up 
with the dirt and insects usually found in Bulgarian 
villages. We quite expected, on account of the southern 
latitude of these mountains, which are little north of 42'', 
to experience a hot and dry climate, but were surprised to 
find that on the north and east slopes at any rate the 
climate was, in the summer of 1899 at least, both cooler 
and more rainy than in any part of the Swiss, Italian or 
Austrian AIjds which I have visited, and though snow lies 
in patches on the highest northern slopes of the mountains, 
whose culminating peak, Mus-alla, is a little over 9600 
feet, there are no snow-fields of any extent or glaciers. 
The general character of the flora as well as the birds arc 
more northern, and indicate a colder and damper climate 
than any mountain range so far south in Europe with 
which I am acquainted. 
Leaving Sofia on June 21st we skirted the high Vitosch 
mountain, which lies just west of the town, and drove over 
a low pass to Samokov through a country which did not 
appear from an entomological point of view very attractive, 
the plains being cultivated and the hills overrun with 
sheep and pigs. At this town we found decent lodgings 
in an inn, and hired horses to go to Rilo Monastir, which 
is a large ancient monastery lying in a very beautiful 
wooded valley in the middle of the mountains. It can be 
reached in one day's Jjard riding from Samokov, as Mrs. 
NichoU returned that way in one day, but owing to delays 
caused by bad roads and bad weather we were four days on 
the road, and found in crossing the pass, which is nearly 
7000 feet high, that we were too early for most of the 
Alpine species. 
When we got down to the monastery, however, which is 
at an elevation of about 4000 feet, we found a good many 
species of butterflies out, and I can recommend this place 
as a good centre for any one unprovided with tents, as it 
can be reached on wheels from Sofia via Dubnitza, and 
the monks are very hospitable. The valley is deep and 
heavily timbered in most parts up to about 6000 feet with 
pine, fir and beecli, the slopes above that being grassy and 
running up into rocky peaks and crags which are the home 
of the chamois. The forests in the more inaccessible 
Butter jiics of Bulgaria. 185 
valleys are almost virgin, though sawmills are creeping up 
them wherever a road passable for pack-horses can be kept 
open without too much labour. Though the monastery 
owns large numbers of sheep and horses the mountains are 
not grazed nearly so hard as in most parts of Bulgaria and 
Turkey, and in consequence there are many good-looking 
collecting-places which in the Alps would swarm with 
butterflies. 
For some reason, however, which I cannot explain, though 
an abnormal season may to some extent account for it, we 
never once either then or later found butterflies in such 
abundance as in many parts of the Alps, and though 
as our list shows a large proportion of the Alpine 
species are present, yet many more which should accom- 
pany them are seemingly quite wanting. Bad weather 
hindered our work very much, and on very few days we 
were able to get more than two or three hours' unbroken 
sunshine, whilst several days were entirely lost through 
heavy rain. 
We had hoped to extend our trip from Rilo Monastir 
into Macedonia, the frontier of which is close by, and to 
reach the southern and presumably warmer and earlier 
slopes of the range ; but the political aspirations of the 
Macedonians, which have caused considerable unrest and 
friction between tlie Turkish and Bulgarian governments 
on this frontier, made our application for leave to visit 
Macedonia useless, and after waiting a week at the 
monastery we went into camp on the pass between it and 
Samokov. Here we had two days of fine weather, and got, 
among other things, McUta3a cyrithia, wliich here finds its 
southern limit. After a few days we returned to Samokov, 
where Herr Haberhauer, having hurt his leg, was obliged 
to leave us, and through the kind help of Dr. Clark and 
Mr. Thompson, who have a large and apparently thriving 
mission here, obtained the services of a young Bulgarian, 
Radomir Kezantchieff, as interpreter. Five miles from 
Samokov is a newly-established watering-place called 
Camkuriya, close to high mouutains and good collecting- 
ground, and though not above 4U()0 feet elevation it might 
be made a good centre for excursions. 
From here we went up into the mouutains east of 
Mus-alla and camped near the source of the Maritza, close 
to the watershed, intending to travel along the frontier as 
far as Batak. Here we found an Ercbia which neither 
186 Mr. H. J. Elwes on the 
Mrs. Niclioll nor I could name, but which appears to be 
most nearly allied to U. gorgone, a Pyrenean species not 
found in the Alps. We were in hopes of finding some 
limestone mountains in this neighbourliood, but failed to 
do so, granite seeming to be the principal formation in the 
district. From the high peaks near our camp when the 
clouds cleared off, which was seldom, we could see the high 
range of Perim Dagh in Macedonia and a large tract of 
mountainous country to the west and' north of us, whilst 
the southern slopes of the Balkan range looking, as they 
are, lower, drier, and less wooded than Rilo Dagh, were 
visible to the north-east. 
Bad weather dogged our steps for a whole fortnight, and 
though by making the most of every gleam of sunshine we 
gradually accumulated a fair number of Lepidoptera, yet we 
were quite unable to get a series of the supposed new 
Ercbia or to find the female at all. 
We then descended to a p!ace called Kostenetz, where a 
small and very humble bathing-place is newly started, and 
where we got a few low-country butterflies not hitherto 
taken ; but though Mrs. Nicholl was very unwilling to 
leave the district without a series including both sexes of 
her long-hopod-for prize, a new Erchia, we were at last 
obliged to go back to Sofia for mone}^ and supplies. Here 
letters arrived which obliged us to return home, and in 
order to see whether the Western Balkans were a promis- 
ing field for future exploration we chose the road over 
the Ginci Pass via Berkovitza to Lom Palanka on the 
Danube instead of the usual route by rail to Belgrade. 
This is a pleasant drive of about one hundred miles, and 
produced eight or ten species not hitherto taken ; but again 
we were overtaken by violent thunderstorms in the most 
promising part of the mountains, which here have rather 
the character of downs, and which extend for thirty or forty 
miles north of Sofia to the pass, where they fall sharply in 
steep beech-clad slopes to the valley of the Danube. 
On descending into the great plain or rolling steppe 
country which lies between the Balkan and the river we 
found a great chanoe in the climate and flora, for whilst 
the Rhodope had had too much rain the Danube Valley 
was nearly dried up and the harvest very scanty. We did 
not see any indications of a rich insect fauna in this part 
of the Balkan, though probably better collecting-ground 
may be found farther east in the neighbourhood of the 
Butteo'Jlics of Bulgaria. 187 
Trojan Pass and in the Rosalita Pass north of Kalofer. 
As far as I can judge from what I saw and heard there 
is, however, no really Alpine country in the whole range 
of the Balkans which does not anywhere rise to above 
about 7000 feet. 
If I am able to revisit the country I should certainly 
prefer the Southern Rhodope and Macedonia, including 
Olympus, which, as far as I know, has been explored in 
recent times by no entomologist, and where a number of 
southern and eastern species which we did not sec will 
almost certainly be found. 
There is probably no region in Europe so likely to 
afford novelties as this, and it would be very interesting 
to see how far north the species extend which were found 
on the northern mountains of Greece by Kruper, and 
which have been described by Staudinger so ably in his 
work on the Lepidoptera of Greece (Hora^ Soc. Ent. Ross, 
1870). 
The catalogue of the species found by us, which follows, 
comprises 121, to which may be added the following 20 
found in the Balkan and Bulgaria by Haberhauer, and 
enumerated by Lederer in Wien. Ent. Mon., vol. vii, 
p. 17— 
Thais i^olyxcna.^ 
Pieris hrassic/v.f 
Lycxna minima^ liylas, tdicanus, corydon.^ 
Thecia spini. 
Satyrus hermione,-f circe, lriscis,-\ adxa, var. corduJa. 
Pararge roxelana. 
Sinlothyrus alciBse, aliliex. 
Syricthus cynarm, alveus, sao. 
Hcsperia lincola, actcon, co'inma.\ 
* His Hitrlmess Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria discovered this 
species at Rilo Monastir in April 1900, and lias reared specimens 
from the egg. The larva feeds on Aridolocliia ixtrviflom. The?e 
specimens are much smaller and whiter in the ground colour than 
those from the Balkans. 
t Species so marked have been taken near Sofia by Prof. Baclimet- 
jew. Since this paper was written Prof. P. Bachmetjew has given 
me a short catalogue published recently by him in the Society as 
Entomologica of the Lepidoptera of Sofia and its environs. This 
contains 72 butterflies, of which T/iuis pulyxena, Pieris hrassicee, 
Thecia acacia, Li/canui corijdon, Vanessa xanthomelas, V. antiopa, 
Satyrus liermione, S. hriseis, 8. arethusa, S. statilinus, Epinephile 
lycaon, Sjnlotliyrvs althea', Syricthns alveus, and Erynnis comma were 
not taken by us. 
188 Mr. H. J. Elwes on the 
This makes the number at present known to occur 
in Bulgaria 141, as against 110 given in Staudinger's 
enumeration, compared with 131 known in Greece, which 
has been much more fully explored. The Greek species 
not yet found in Bulgaria are 30 in number, as follows — 
Fieris hrueperi. 
Anthocharis gruncri, damonc. 
Colias heldreicJii. 
Bhodocera rhamni, deopatra. 
Thccia vj-alimm, acaci.v. 
Po/i/om7natus ottomanus, thetis. 
Lyaenn hoetica, halcanica, trochihis, argus. 
Libythea celtis. 
Charnxes jasius. 
Vanessa egca, antiopa. 
Danais c]irysi2ypus. 
Erebia melas. 
Satyriis amalthca, mamurra, aorfJiusa* stat'dinus,^ fatua. 
Epincphelc ida. 
Syrichthus proto, p)}domidis. 
Nisoniadcs marloyi. 
Hcspieria nostrodamus. 
Of these the greater part will certainly be found in 
Bulgaria, as well as about twelve which are included in 
the list of Koumanian butterflies given by Caradja in 
Iris, vol. viii, pp. 1-G2, as follows — 
Colias chrysothcmc. 
Thcda hetidcV, ptrnni. 
Lyr.Tua euphcmus. 
TJicsfor nogelii. 
Neptis aceris. 
Vanessa xanthomelas* l-aUmm. 
Mclitiea maturna, arduinna. 
Erehia /i'thinp)s. 
Pararge dynienc. 
The total number of butterflies which have been hitherto 
found or which from their known distribution may be 
expected to occur in Bulgaria is thus as follows — 
141 + about 20 of the 29 others which occur in 
Greece = 161 + 10 found in the Danube Valley = 171. 
Probably in the whole Balkan Peninsula something like 
* Taken near Sofia by Prof. Baclimeljew. 
Butterflies of Bulgaria. 189 
180 to 200 species will be found, which compares favour- 
ably with about 180 in Spain, 200 in Italy, including the 
islands and Alps, and 200 in Asia Minor. None, however, 
unless we treat Erchia gorgonc var. rhodo2)ensis as a species, 
can be considered peculiar to Bulgaria. 
1. Pajjilio machaon, L. 
Not uncommon up to about 4000 feet. 
2. F. podalirius, L. 
A few seen in the low country. Common at Slivno. 
3. Thais ccrisyi, B. 
Mrs. Nicholl took this abundantly at Slivno in the end 
of May, and also saw it in the Rilska Valley on the west side 
of the Rilo Dagh, which is the most westerly point where 
it has yet been found. The Slivno specimens are larger 
and the females paler in colour than in Asia Minor or 
the Caucasus. 
4. Parnassius cqjoUo, L. 
Appeared about the beginning of July on dry slopes 
at about 3000 — 4000 feet, but not so common as in the 
Alps. The specimens are not in any way remarkable for 
size or markings. 
5. P. mncmosgne, L. 
Common on meadows near Rilo Monastir at the end of 
June at about 4000 feet, but not seen in the Maritza or 
Airandere Valleys. 
6. A23oria crat^'&gi, L. 
Not uncommon at 3000—4000 feet in July. 
7. Pieris rapse, L. 
Common at 3000 — 4000 and seen up to above 5000 
feet, and showing a great deal of variation. Some of the 
females might be called mannii ; but, as far as I can 
judge, this form is nowhere constant, and should be looked 
on as an aberration rather than a variety. 
8. P. napi, L. 
Rare in the mountains, and not seen below GOOO feet. 
190 Mr. H. J. Elwes on the 
9. F. ergane, Hitb. ? 
Though we caught every small specimen of rap.'v in 
hopes of getting this species, which is common in Mon- 
tenegro and Greece, we got no specimen about which 
there can be no doubt. Some of the females were very 
near ergane in size, but all had the black spot on under- 
side of the fore-wing which is wanting in ergane and 
present in rapx. Mrs. Nicholl, however, got one at Slivno 
which I believe is ergane. 
10. F. cla/plidice , L. 
Only taken in the plains about Sofia and at Slivno. 
11. F. chloridiee, Hiib. 
Local and not common at Slivno in early June. 
12. Antliocharis helia, Esp. 
Not seen in the Rilo Dagh, but taken at Slivno. 
13. A. cardamines, L. 
Nearly over when I arrived, but Mrs. Nicholl took it at 
Rilo and at Slivno. 
14. Leucophasia sinapis, L. 
Common at 3000—4000 feet. I believe that what I 
took belonged to the second generation. 
1.5. Oolias myrniidone, Esp., var. 
We found this insect not uncommon from about 4000 — 
5000 feet, flying on steep hillsides and in gorges, but 
never in the low country. It appeared at the beginning 
of July, so I cannot say whether there are two generations 
or not ; but, if so, what we took was probably the first. 
The specimens, like those from Bosnia, average consider- 
ably larger, and are brighter in colour than those from 
Austria, and are fully equal in size and brighter in colour 
than the form found in the Southern Ural, which has 
been called ermah by Grum. 
I have seen only one myrniidone from Hungary which 
could be mistaken for Bulgarian specimens. We were 
unable to take many females, as they were hard to 
catch on such steep and bush-covered ground as they 
Butter files of Bulgaria. 191 
usually frequented ; but the white form was certainly more 
abundant than the orange, though Mrs. Nicholl found this 
was not the case in Bosnia, and in Austria the white 
female occurs as a rare aberration only. My orange 
female is very like that of licldreichi on the upper- 
side, but can be distinguished by the brighter colour 
below. HeldreicM, which has hitherto only been taken 
on the highest peaks of Veluchi, Chelmos, and Par- 
nassus in Greece, at 7000 — 8000 feet, and has been 
treated as a var. of aurorina, seems to be more worthy 
of specific rank than many other so-called species of 
Colias. 
The fact is, that in this genus, as in many others, 
wherever you find a butterfly restricted by geographical 
or physical conditions to an isolated locality, it is com- 
paratively easy to recognize and define its distinguishing 
characters ; but when you find a species whose greater 
powers of adaptation to varying conditions of food and 
climate enable it to exist over a wide area, then it often 
becomes impossible to define its local varieties. There 
is no evident reason Avhy myrmidone should not extend 
its range to Greece, and we do not yet know whether 
Jieldrcichi may not occur in the Southern Rhodope or 
Macedonia ; but from a geographical point of view it 
would seem likely that heldreichi is more nearly allied 
to myrmidone than to aurorina, from which it is separ- 
ated by wide areas of sea. 
IG. Golias edusa, Fabr. 
Common up to about 5000 — GOOO feet, and a,lways dis- 
tinguishable on the wing from myrmido7ie by its paler 
colour. 
17. C. hyalc, L. 
Not seen in the mountains, but common in the plains 
and at Slivno. 
18. Thecla ilicis, Esp. 
A few specimens were taken at about 4000 feet. 
19. T. quercus, L. 
Not seen in Rilo Dagh, but taken in the Balkans at 
the end of July. 
192 Mr. H. J. Elwes on the 
20. T. ruU, L. 
Nearly over wlien I reached the country, but Mrs. 
NichoU found it common at/ Slivno. 
21. Polyommatus virgaurem. L. 
Males were abundant on the meadows in the foothills 
and at Rilo Monastir, but females were not yet out by the 
middle of July. 
22. P. thcTsamon, Esp. 
Found at Slivno, where it was rare, and near Sofia at 
8000 feet by Mrs. NichoU. 
23. P. clis2Kir, var. rutihis, Wernb. 
Mrs. Nicholl found this in the Struma Valley near 
Dubnitza, on June 7th, on marshy ground. 
24 P. hiirpotlioe, L. 
Common in mountain meadows up to 5000 feet. 
25. P. alciphron, Rott. 
Not common in the Rilo Dngh. My only fresh male is 
small, of a paler colour than German specimens, like 
those from Florence (var. intermedia, Stefanelli). The 
female, however, is quite typical. 
2G. P. dorilis, Hufn. 
Not common in wet Alpine meadows at 6000 — 7000 
feet at the end of June. 
27. P. i^hlecis, L. 
Not common at 8000—4000 feet. 
28. £y Ciena argiadcs, Pall. 
Taken at Sofia in June and Slivno in May. 
29. Z. mgon, S. V. 
We took this sparingly in the lower parts of the 
mountains and up to about 5000 feet. 
80. X. zcphyrus, Friv, 
A single male taken at Kostenetz, and was not recog- 
Butterflies of Bulgaria. 193 
nized by me at the time on accouut of its small size, but 
can, I think, belong to no other species. Haberhauer 
found it rare at Slivno. 
31. L. Of ion, Pall. 
Not common near Rilo Monastir in June ; common at 
Slivno. 
32. L. baton, Berg. 
Found at Slivno, but not seen in Rilo Dagh. 
83. X. astrarche, Bgstr. 
Not uncommon at 3000—4000 feet. 
34. L. anteros, Frr. 
This was a common insect in the Rilo Dagh and Balkans 
from 4000 to about 5000 feet. The males are easy to 
recognize by their brilliant colour, but the females are 
sometimes easily confused with those of the last species. 
By the end of June it was difficult to find a fresh male, but 
the females were in some cases still fresh in the middle 
of July. 
35. L. eroidrs, Friv. 
I first foimd this in a meadow near Rilo Monastir on 
July 3rd, where it was rare ; and on July 14th near 
Kostenetz at about 4500 feet it was commoner on a steep 
hillside among bushes. The male is easy to recognize by 
its bright blue colour, but the female is liable to be con- 
fused with that of icarus. I see no reason why this should 
any longer be treated as a var. of eros, which, as far as I 
know, is in Europe always an Alpine insect and constantly 
much smaller. 
Eroidcs occurs, though it has not recently been taken, in 
some (to me unknown) locality in Prussian Po\and, and also 
in the Balkans and at Sarepta. I believe that Frivaldsky 
also took it in Crete, but it is not yet recorded from Greece 
or from any part of the Carpathian Mountains. 
3G. L. icarus, Rott. 
Common at the foot of the mountains. I found a very 
smnll variety of which the males were worn and the 
194 Mr, H. J. Elwes on the 
females fresh on the northern foothills of the Balkans, 
and at first supposed it to be Z. candalus, but Dr, Staudinger 
thinks that they are only starved specimens of icarus, and 
the great drought which prevailed in the Lower Danubian 
provinces during the last winter and spring would perhaps 
account for their uniformly stunted development. 
37. L. cumcdon, Esp. 
Common at 5000 — GOOO feet in the beginning of July. 
The specimens are large, and most of them have the white 
streak on the hind- wing below faint or absent as in the var. 
fylgict of Spangberg. Mrs. Nicholl found both forms at 
Slivno. 
38. L. amanda, Schn. 
Not uncommon at 4000 — 5000 feet. 
39. L. cschcri, Htib. 
Rare at Rilo Monastir. 
40. L. lellargus, Rott. 
Taken at Slivno in early June, and also on the north 
slope of the Balkans in the end of July. 
41. L. mekager, Esp. 
Taken at Kostenetz in the foothills of the Rilo Dagli and 
in the Balkans at the end of July. 
42. L. admctus, var. ripartii, Fri-. 
Taken on the Balkans, but not seen in Rilo Dagh. 
43. L. argiolus, L. 
Not uncommon in Kostenetz in the middle of July. 
44. L. schrus, B. 
Two specimens from Rilo on Jidy 6th at about 4000 
feet. 
45. L. eyllarus, Rott. 
Taken at Slivno and near Rilo Monastir by Mrs. Nicholl, 
but not common. 
46. L. semiargus, Rott. 
But ferries of Bulgaria. 195 
The commonest and indeed the only Lycxna at high 
elevations in Rilo Dagh, where it was very common at 5000 
— 7000 feet and perhaps higher. Most, but not all, of the 
specimens show on the hind-wing below the reddish 
marginal spots which are characteristic of the var. imr- 
nassia, Stgr., from Greece ; but that is normally a small 
form, and all my specimens are large. The var. helcna is 
an extreme development of the same. 
47. L. a Icon, S. V. 
Not uncommon at about 3500 feet near Rilo Monastir. 
48. L. iolas, Ochs. 
Common at Slivno, but not seen in Rilo Dagh. 
49. L. ario)i, L- 
Also common at 3000—4000 feet. 
50. Ncmcohlas luciiia, L, 
A few, mostly worn, of the first brood were taken late in 
June at Rilo; others were flying in bushy ground on July 
25th in the plains north of the Balkans. These must 
belong to a second brood, but the species in most places 
seems to be only single-brooded. 
51. Apatura iris, L. 
Common near Kostenetz, the males fresh out on July 14th. 
52. A. ilia, var. cl title, Schiff. 
We did not take this in the Rilo Dagh, but it occurs at 
the foot of the hills, and was very numerous on the willows 
by the side of the road near Sofia on July 21st. Most of 
the specimens were by that time much worn. 
53. Limcnitis ijopidi, L. 
Occurred near llilu Monastir at about 3000 feet, but 
not abundantly. 
54. L. camillii, Schitf. 
Only once taken at Kostenetz. 
55. L. sihylla, L. 
Commoner than the last at Kostenetz. 
196 Mr. H. J. Elwes 07i the 
56. Ncj^tis lucilla, F. 
Also taken at Kosteuetz, but not common. 
57. Vanessa c-alhum, L. 
Common near Kostenetz at 4000 — 5000 feet. 
58. V. 'pohjchloros, L. 
A single specimen near Sofia. 
59. V. urtic/B, L. 
The only Vanessa seen in the mountains from 5000 — 
7000 feet. 
60. V. cardui. 
Not abundant at the foot of the mountains. 
61. V. atahdita, L. 
Seen at Eilo and at the foot of the mountains. 
62. Mditfea cyiitliia, Hub. 
Though this had previously been taken by Haberhauer 
twenty years ago, most likely in the same place wliere we 
found it, no published notice of its occurrence except in 
the Alps is known to me. At our camp on the pass be- 
tween Samokov and Rilo Monastir, where we had almost 
the only fine days Ave experienced, a good series of both 
sexes was procured. Tiie insect flies on steep slopes 
covered with long grass and juniper bushes at from 7000 
— 8000 feet, and was in perfect condition during the 
first week in July. It flies rather rapidly and settles with 
its wings spread on the grass and juuipers. Some larvse 
were found on a coarse grass which must be its food plant, 
as the insects were never far from the places where this 
grass grew most luxuriantly. I see no difference in either 
sex between the Rilo and Alpine specimens, except that 
the fulvous band on both wings in the male above is more 
developed in Bulgaria, but I do not know that I could 
separate them if without labels. 
63. M. aurima, Rott. 
Common at 5000 — 6000 feet in meadows. I do not see 
how it can be distinguislied from the typical form, though 
according to Staudinger it should be the YdiX. provincialis. 
Bidterfiics of Bulgaria. 197 
64. M. cinxia, L. 
Common near Rilo Monastir in the middle of June; tlie 
females mostly very dark in colour. 
65. M. phcebc, Knoch. 
Not imcommon near Rilo Monastir. 
66. M. trivia, Schiff. 
A large form of this, very dark in colour, was common 
on some flowery hillsides among rocks at 400O feet, near 
Rilo Monastir, in the end of June. Some of the females 
were almost melanic, others quite pale. There were also 
some remarkable aberrations among the males, but on the 
average they are lai'ger and darker than those from any 
other locality whence I have specimens. 
67. M. (lidyma, Ochs. 
Not so common as the last. 
68. M. dictynna, Esp. 
A few were taken at about .5000 feet, 
09 M. athcdia, Rott. 
Common at Camkuriya near Samokov^ at Rilo Munastir, 
and generally at the foot of the mountains. The specimens 
are large and dark, like the so-called var. nichadicmis, 
Gerh. 
70. M. aurclia, Nick. 
Common. Found at the same elevation as atlmlia. 
Some of the females are hard to distinguish from those of 
at] L alia. 
71. Argyiuiis selene, Schiff. 
Common from 5000 — 6000 feet in marshy Alpine 
meadows. Tlie specimens we took average smaller than 
usual in Europe. 
72. A. cuphrosgiie, L. 
The commonest butterfly in tlie wooded part of tlie 
mountains from 4000 — 6000 feet, and apparently one of 
the earliest to appear, most of the specimens being worn 
198 Mr. H. J. Elwes on the 
at the end of June. vSorae of the females are very large, 
and dark in colour. 
73. A. pales, SchifP. 
Common in Alpine meadows and forest openings at 
5000 — 6000 feet from the end of June. To my mind the 
variety found here, which agrees with specimens from 
Bosnia, is a transition form from ^;a7cs to the variety 
found in the Greek mountains and figured by Staudinger 
in his list of the Lepidoptera of Greece (Hora3, 1870-71) as 
var. grmca. Dr. Staudinger, to whom I sent a pair, says 
they are nearer to his var. ccmcasica, and assigns both grmca 
and caucasiea to arsilache rather than to pa/cs on account 
of the black markings on the fore-wing below being well 
marked. But though my specimens are not so large and 
pale coloured as in typical var. gi\xca they resemble it in 
having the ocelli on hind-wing below more distinct and 
regular than in any other form of ^Jales or arsilache, and 
by this character I should know them from any central 
European jxe^es. From the nature of their habitat I 
assign the form to jja/e-s rather than to arsilache, but the 
specific distinction of these two forms is yet unproved 
though very probable. 
74. A. dia, Linn. 
A few were taken at the foot of the mountains in July. 
75. A. daphne, Schiff. 
One was taken at Rilo by Mrs. Nicholl. 
76. A. iiio, Esp. 
Not common near Rilo Monastir in bushy places. 
77. A. hccate, Esp. 
I took a single specimen at about 3500 feet. 
78. A. lathonia, L. 
Not uncommon. 
79. A. aglaia, Jj. 
Fairly common on the mountains. 
ButUr flies of Bulgaria. 199 
80. A. niobc, var. eris, Meig. 
Common at 8000—4000 feet. 
SI. A. aclippc, L. 
82. A. pa]iliia, L. 
Taken at Kostenetz in July. 
83. A. pandora, Schiff. 
Taken at Kostenetz at 3500 feet. 
84. Melanargia galathca, L. 
Common up to about 3500 feet ; also at Slivno at 1500 
feet early in June. 
85. M. larissa, Hlib. 
Mrs. Nicholl found this species common at Slivno at the 
beginning of June. The specimens are dark, very like 
some from Syria, but I have none from Greece or Dalmatia 
for comparison. 
86. Erchia cpvpliron, var. orientalis, n. var. ? 
We found this pretty common in the Rilo Dagh at from 
about 5000 to nearly 7000 feet in the end of June and 
July, in company with oimc and medusa, in places where 
long grass grew on sunny slopes. 
On comparing it with a large series of various forms of 
this species from the Harz, Vosges, Styria and Pyrenees, 
I find that it comes nearest to the Pyrenean form in size 
and markings, but can be separated from it as well as from 
all others by the following characters — In the ^ the band 
of the fore-wing above is less defined and the two lower 
ocelli constantly absent (though I attach little importance 
to this, as similar siDecimens occur rarely in other places). 
In many specimens there is a distinct chocolate stripe 
extending inwards from the apical ocelli which is 
characteristic of this form, and of which a trace is seen in 
one other specimen only (from the Sau Alpe in Styria). 
In the female, however, the difference is much greater, the 
ocelli above being ringed with white, and the ground colour 
below much more like that of ame ^, having the ground 
colour greyish, pale marginal band very distinct, and the 
ocelli strongly ocellated with white points in the centre. 
TRANS, ENT, SOC. LOND. 1900. — PART II. (JuLY) 14 
200 Mr. H, J. Elwes on the 
I have seen no similar females of cinpliron from any place 
except two in Grum's collection marked " Alpes/' wliicli, if 
they do not come from Bulgaria, I am inclined to refer 
to cemc. T caught cemc females at the same time and 
place flying with their males in compan}^ with cpipJiroiif 
and can easily distinguish them by their large size and the 
broader, more rounded wings, and, as I have shown below, 
this form of ceme is different from the Alpine or Pyrenean 
one. 
87, 88. E. nieditsa, ¥., and var. psodea. Hub., and E. ceme, 
Hub. var. 
Though these species were xevy abundant in the 
Rilo Dagh I have very great difficulty in deciding how to 
name many of the specimens, of which we took large 
numbers. 
The form of medusa which Mrs. Nicholl took at Slivno 
in the early part of the season is a large form with large 
ocelli, usually five in number on the fore-wing, of which 
the third is the smallest, and often in the male obsolete or 
only represented by a point. 
This fonn was also taken in the lower parts of the Rilo 
Mountains up to 4000 or 5000 feet, though not so large 
and well-marked as at Slivno. 
It is usually known in collections as medusa, var. 'psodea, 
Hub., or eumenis, Frr., and is considered by Staudinger 
as a form of medusa. It is the typical form in the Balkans 
in Podolia and Hungary, and occurs in the Aljjs and 
Germany as an aberration. 
At a higher elevation in Kilo Dagh, up to say 7500 
feet, a smaller form of medusa or oime, some of which might 
be called hipjpomcdusa, Ochs, was common in company 
with a species of similar size, most like one which is 
common in the Alps of Styria in Bosnia and possibly 
elsewhere, and is known in collections as ceme, var. spodia, 
Stgr, When taking this we could usually distinguish 
the males by tlie colour of the fore-wing below, which is 
tinged with the chocolate colour of the band, the lower 
part of which is indefinite and fades into the ground colour 
of the wing, whereas in medusa it is much more sharply 
defined. 
The females are more easy to distinguish, as they have 
the same difference, and also as a I'ule have the ground 
colour of the winces more fulvous. There are some 
Butter/lies of Bulgaria. 201 
specimens winch are difficult to distinguish without 
having recourse to the genitalia, which agree very well 
with those of medusa and cemc, and seem to me to prove 
that the two forms are distinct species. Dr. Chapman, to 
whom I sent specimens of both forms, says that he is able in 
all cases to distinguish them by the antennae. In medusa 
the club is yellow-brown beneath, and in Oime the same 
part is black. 
Probably hybrids between the two occur. 
89. E. mclas, var. 
A single specimen of this species taken on Belmecan, 
October Sth, was sent me recently by Radomir Kezant- 
chieff, who returned to Kostenetz after we left in hopes of 
getting more specimens, including the female of U. gorgone. 
As his experience may be usefid to other entomologists I 
give an extract from his letter. 
He started for Kostenetz on August 9th, two weeks after 
we parted, the weather being just as rainy as when we 
left, and stayed a week in the valley of Airandere, at the 
gendarmerie hut, but owing to persistent rain and mist got 
only a few specimens. Then he returned to Kostenetz and 
ascended the mountain called Belmecan, 8600 feet high, 
where he found a great many of what he thought to be 
the same as E. gorgone, but not having a net with him was 
only able to take a few with his hands. Having found a 
good place to collect in he returned, but bad weather 
again set in, and lasted two weeks. All the specimens 
taken on these occasions were sent to me by post, but 
have been lost with the exception of E. iiiclas. 
90. E. la^ypona, Esp. 
On the bare grass-covered tops and flatter slopes of the 
Rilo Dagh above 7000 feet, coninion, but most abundant at 
about 8000 feet, and the only Erchia which was found 
abundantly at high levels, though medusa and ceme also 
occurred in the lower part of its range. 
The first specimens Avere taken at the end of June, and 
continued to appear till the middle of July. On the 
average the specimens are larger and brighter, with the 
inner bands on the fore-wing above and the bands of the 
hind-wing below more strongly marked than in specimens 
from the Alps. 
202 Mr. H. J. Elwes on tne 
91. E. tyndarus, var. 
We did not find tliis until tlie first week in July, when 
the males appeared at about 5000 feet in grassy places in 
the forest, but we got no females; whether it occurs at a 
higher elevation later in the season or not I canuot say, 
but Mis. XichoU got it in Bosnia at from 4000 — 5000 feet 
in the end of July, and found both typical specimens and 
a form which she called halcanica within 1000 feet of each 
other. Rilo specimens are considerably larger than Alpine, 
Pyrenean, or Asiatic examples, but not so large as var. 
ottomana from Greece and Asia Minor, and seem to form 
a transition to those varieties. On the underside they are 
like Bosnian specimens, with the bands indistinct, and 
often have on the hind-wing below a mixture of fulvous 
colour with the grey, and the ocelli well marked. I am 
not aware that any form of tyndarus has yet been taken 
in the Balkan Mountains. 
92. U. gorgone, var. rliodopcnsis, n. var. 
lu the upper Maritza Valley on July 11th Mrs. Nicholl 
took the first specimen of what we supposed to be a new 
Erchia, and we afterwards found four more males in the 
Airandere Valley above Kostenetz. In both places they 
frequented wet grassy spots at about 7000 feet, afhong the 
dense scrub of Pinus piomilio, which grows more luxuriantly 
in the Rilo Dagh at 6000—8000 feet than in the Alps of 
Austria, and often forms an impenetrable thicket. Its habits 
and manner of flight were so different from that of gorge 
that we could not believe it to be a form of that species, and 
only after comparison of the clasps with those of gorgone I 
am obliged to consider it as a local form of that species. 
In size and appearance the males resemble tiiose of gorgone 
from the Pyrenees more than gorge, but though we did 
everything in our power to get a series, the continued bad 
weather made it impossible, and without knowing the 
female I cannot say whether it has good claims to specific 
distinction. 
Since writing the above Dr. Staudinger has lent me a 
pair of the same species taken by Haberhauer in Rilo 
Dagh (though sent as from the Balkans) many years ago. 
The male is exactly like ours; the female resembles that 
ButtcTJiics of Bulgaria. 203 
oi gov gone more than that oi gorge, but tlie veins below are 
not so white as in that species.* 
93. E. xthiops, Esp. 
We left the country before the proper season for this 
insect, which I did not see myself, but Mrs. Nicholl took 
one at Kostenec which she did not preserve. 
94. E. ligca, L. 
Common at tlie foot of the mountains and up to about 
4000 feet in the first half of July. The specimens large, 
and typical ligea. 
95. E. curyale, Esp. 
Very abundant in the forest from about 4000 feet, where 
it just overlapped the range oi ligea, up to about 7000 feet 
during July. There was little or no variation among them, 
and not the least difficulty in distinguishing them on the 
wing from ligca. As far as I can see it is only in 
Scandinavia, North Russia and Siberia where there is any 
difficulty in distinguishing ctbrgalc from ligea. 
96. Satyrus semcle, L. 
Whether we were too early for this genus or whether 
the unusually wet season had retarded their appearance I 
cannot say, but up to July 20th no species of the genus 
had made its appearance in the Rilo Dagh; but Mrs. 
Nicholl caught one of this species on June 4th at Slivno. 
97. S. dryas, Scop. 
This was common on the north side of the Balkans at 
the end of July, but not seen in the Rilo Dagh. 
98. Pararge iiicvra, L. 
Common in the Rilo up to about 4000 feet. The 
specimens come very near, except in size, to hicra. When 
a large number of iiicvra are examined the extent of varia- 
tion is astonishing, some from Sweden and Norway being 
hardly distinguishable from hicra. 
* I saw a worn specimen of this species, said to have been taken 
somewhere in the Balkans, in the Sofia Museum in 1900. 
204 Mr. H. J. Elwes on the 
99. P. cgcria, L. 
Seen in the foothills, but too much Avorn to be worth 
preserving. It seemed to be the northern form. 
100. P. hicra, F. 
A very common insect in June in the Rilo Dagh at 
about 5000—6000 feet, and still flying, though in a very 
worn condition, in July. This seems to be the most 
southern locality in Europe where hiera has yet been 
found. 
101. P. mcff/Bo^a, L. 
Not common in the foothills at 3000 feet. 
102. Eijincphclc lycaoii, Rott. 
Not common at Kostenetz, and taken in the Balkans. 
103. E.janira, L. 
Common at 3000—4000 feet in July. 
104. E. titJionns, L. 
A few seen in the Balkans in the end of July. 
105. E. hyperanthns, L. 
Appeared in July in the lower parts of the mountains. 
106. Coiiio'iiympha Icander, Esp. 
Very common early in June at Slivno and on the hills 
near Sofia ; not so common in the Kilo Dagli up to 
about 4000 feet. There is considerable variation in both 
sexes. 
107. a iphis, Schiff. 
Not uncommon in the foothills at 3000 — 4000 feet. 
108. C. arcania, L, 
With the last, and equally abundant. 
109. C. pamijliilus, L. 
Not so common as the last two species in similar 
situations. 
Butterfiics of Bulgaria. 205 
110. C. tipJion, var. rhodopcnsis, n. var. 
This butterfly was very cotntnoQ in Rilo Dagh from 
about 4000 to at least 7000 feet, and was not confined to 
particular habitats, though commonest on wet mountain 
meadows. It was out in the middle of June, and fresh 
specimens could be got a month later. On comparing 
them with my numerous specimens of tiphon from all parts 
of Europe and Asia I find that they differ from normal 
European specimens in having in most cases the apical 
band of fore-wing below obsolete, but some specimens 
(about one thinl) show a trace of this band, and some of 
these cannot be distinguished from two specimens of tiphon 
from Stettin, and are also very close to, but much larger 
and darker than, what I took in the Altai Mountains 
(c/. Trans. Ent. Soc, 1899, p. 363). 
On sending a specimen of the Rilo form to Dr. 
Staudinger he writes as follows — " Here you have found 
something really interesting. This specimen agrees with 
four or five males that I received many years ago from 
Haberhauer from the Caucasus without exact habitat. 
I have described it as symphita, Led., var, tiphonides, 
and from these specimens consider sympJiita (which I 
received in quantity from Achalzich in Armenia) also as 
a probable form of tiphon." As to the identity of tiplion 
and sympliita my specimens of the latter are not sufficient 
to enable me to judge, but certainly the Bulgarian form is, 
on account of the grey patch on hind- wing below, much 
nearer to tiplwn than to symphita, which (in the specimens 
I have) wants this jjatch entirely. 
111. Bpilothyrus lavaUrm, Esp. 
Taken at Slivno, but not seen in Rilo Dagh. 
112. Syricthus sid/r, Esp. 
Not uncommon at Rilo at 3000 — -iOOO feet in the end 
of June ; and also at Slivno. 
113. S. carthami, Hub. 
I took a single specimen only. 
114. S. scrratidai,'^vahv. 
Common in the foothills up to about 4000 feet. 
206 Mr. H. J. EUves on the Butterfiies of Bulgaria. 
115. S. cacalicV, Rmbr. 
This species, which as far as I kaow has not been hitherto 
found east of the Alps, was not abundant, but fairly dis- 
tributed at high elevations, 6500 — 8000 feet, at the end 
of June, and was the only HesjJcriid at that elevation. 
116. aS'. malvm, L. 
Common at 4000—6000 feet. 
117. S. orhifer, Hub. 
Taken by Mrs. Nicholl at Slivno. 
118. NisoniacUs tages, L. 
Not common in the foothills of Rilo Dagh. 
119. Hespcria thaumas, Hiif . 
With the last; not abundant. 
120. IT. sylvanus, Esp. 
Not abundant, but more so than the last. 
121. Carterocephalus 2')ah'Bmo}i, Pall. 
Not uncommon in damp places in Rilo Dagh at 4000 — 
5000 feet, and nearly over at the end of June. 
Explanation of Plate IV. 
[Sec Explanation facing the Plate.] 
[Plate IV. not being ready for publication, will appear in a 
later Part of the Transactions.]