UK Butterflies
Building a Community of Responsible Butterfly Enthusiasts in Britain & Ireland
Building a Community of Responsible Butterfly Enthusiasts in Britain & Ireland
This page provides access to all named aberrations of a given species and Goodson & Read (1969) is a key resource in this regard.
Description to be completed.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk
This section contains those aberrations that are considered new, and have yet to be formally defined.
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The ground colour of the upperside is light red-brown and all other colours are paler, the yellow of the eyes is paler and the black-brown of the margin is replaced by light grey. The insect appears faded by sunlight as though it had been exposed for several weeks. The underside is also lighter, being light reddish-brown instead of the normal deep black.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The ground colour clear cinnamon-tinted orange, the ocelli of all wings suffused with light violet.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The ground colour chocolate-brown.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= violascens Rebel.Verh.zool.-bot.Ges.Wien.1926.74-75.p.122.
= transparens Beuret.Schweiz.Ent.Anz.1926.5.3.p.3.
= implumis Watkins.Entom.1942.75.p.202.
The figure of fulva shows the ground colour rather greyish-violet with a yellowish tinge in the centre of the forewings, appearing thinly scaled. The description says, “the normal purplish-red-brown replaced by dirty reddish-brown as if bleached”. Rebel described his violascens as having strong violet ground on account of thinner scaling, one specimen having a yellowish tone. Verity makes transparens a synonym of fulva but I have not verified this [Goodson & Read]. Watkins implumis had rolled up scales giving the impression of thinness and a smoky, slightly iridescent, suffusion. These forms would seem to be slight variations of the defective-scaling form, which can be produced artificially with ammonia.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The red-brown has turned to a greyish-brown and the blue is almost absent. From a Verity description.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Forewings with a median spot or blotch of pale yellow, 3mm by 2mm, and oval in shape.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= nigromaculata Metschl.Ver.Nat.Ver.Regensburg.1923.16.p.39.
= hackrayi Cabeau.Rev.Mens.Soc.Ent.Nam.1925.25.p.6.,fig.Lamb.34.pl.34.f.3.
A small blackish spot on the forewings above the inner margin, corresponding to that seen in A. urticae [Aglais urticae, Small Tortoiseshell]. This description is given by Seitz. Verity places nigromaculata as a synonym. Cabeau described his hackrayi as having a black median spot above the first nervure, just above the inner margin.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= calore-nigromaculata Urech.Ent.Z.1897.11.p.94.
Forewings with four black spots, each about 4mm square, one in the median cell towards the costa, one in each of the two cells formed by the median vein and its branches, the fourth, the most distant, lies in the cell formed by the submedian vein, the median vein, and the branch of the median vein in the position of that seen in A. urticae [Aglais urticae, Small Tortoiseshell] i.e. above the inner margin. The upper costal spot stretches into the median cell. Urech named the same form twice in the same volume of Ent.Z.11.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Forewings with a dark median fascia formed by a suffusion of black scales, running from the black costal blotch downwards to the inner margin.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= nigromaculata Kleinschmidt.(nom.preoc.Metschl).Falco.1929.23.p.14.
The marginal band heavily spotted with black, the spots forming a row before the margin of the forewings.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Forewings with black spots in the marginal band of such a size that they tend to coalesce and form a continuous band themselves.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The margins, though narrow, are of a steel-blue with copper iridescence. The somewhat elongated small ocelli of the hindwings are also iridescent, of a metallic blue, as is also the large black costal spot of the forewings.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= cyanosticta Raynor.Entom.1903.36.p.67.
On the upperside of the hindwings, between the ocellus and the angle of the tail, a little blue spot. Raynor described his form as having a single blue spot beneath the eye of the hindwings.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The pale yellow lunules, which form the outside part of the forewings ocellus, and also the pale costal blotch, are white instead of ochreous.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The white spots in the ocellus of the forewings are much enlarged.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The white spots below the ocellus of the forewings tend to disappear and those inside it are very small.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Reuss gives no description but says that parvimaculata is “exmaculata trans”, thus implying that exmaculata would have no white spots at all. He gives no previous reference so, unless a previous description with the name exists, it can hardly stand.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The ocellus of the forewings with the blue on its outer side divided into spots by the black veins running through it. The ground colour is lighter and the ocellus of the hindwings has two heavy black bands across it.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The ocellus of the forewings with the blue on its outer side not divided by any black veins but forming a continuous band of blue. The ground colour is darker than normal and the hindwings ocellus shows more blue than usual.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Forewings like mesoides Reuss with the blue of the outer part of the forewings ocellus divided by black veins but with the hindwings like teloides Reuss with the hindwings ocellus showing more blue than usual.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Forewings like teloides Reuss, the ocellus having the blue on its outer side uninterrupted by any black veins, thus forming a blue band. The hindwings however like mesoides Reuss, the ocellus showing two heavy black bands across it.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Forewings with the blue of the outer half of the ocellus not cut by any black veins but forming a blue band. The hindwings ocellus with only one faint black bar showing in it and this also suffused with blue, the whole of the inside is therefore practically all blue.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
With the characters of teloides Reuss but with the ground colour orange. Orange would appear to be a trifle exaggerated; presumably the ground colour shows a tint of orange.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
With the characters of teloides Reuss but with the ground colour chocolate-brown.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
With the characters of mesoides Reuss but the ground colour of an orange tint.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
With the characters of mesoides Reuss but the ground colour chocolate-brown.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The hindwings ocellus all blue with one faint black bar remaining but even this suffused with blue. There are three small white spots correlating with those of the forewings ocellus.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Hindwings ocellus with only one black bar, the lower one, showing in the blue area.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The hindwings ocellus practically all black, with only four or five small separated blue spots.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The ocellus of the forewings instead of normal blue, is of a most brilliant whitish-green, when the light falls on it at a suitable angle.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The blue of the outer half of the forewings ocellus replaced by reddish-brown, and a row of small blue spots, starting at the apex and continuing downwards to the tornus just inside the dark marginal band which is darker than usual. These blue spots are not to be confused with the blue ones beneath the ocellus, they are marginal and normally there is no trace of such.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
= narses Schultz
The yellow scales between the large black costal blotch and the basal blotch are replaced partly by black and partly red-brown. The hindwings ocellus is replaced by small spots formed by blue and black scales. Verity makes narses a synonym but gives no reference.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The upper black costal blotch of the forewings extends upwards and invades the ocellus, leaving only the outer half of it normal. Hindwings with the normal ocelli reduced to two small black edged spots, joined together, and surrounded by whitish suffusion, which is the size of the normal ocellus. This is very close to ab. belisaria Oberthür, in which the hindwings ocellus is completely absent, leaving only the whitish suffusion.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The black costal spots of the forewings joined together, the upper part partly invading the ocellus, leaving only the outer part of it normal. Hindwings without ocellus, entirely deprived of the blue or black, leaving only a yellowish-grey lightening on a very dark ground, the size of the normal ocellus.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The figure shows the black costal blotches united, the upper part invading the ocellus as in ab. belisaria Oberthür, leaving only its outer half blue. The hindwings ocellus with the black-edged blue part rather smaller than usual with little black in it, the surrounding whitish suffusion of the size of a normal ocellus.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
The pattern of the forewings is enriched by a dark spot on the inner margin and a shadowy median band, which joins it. The second costal spot is enlarged like the third and the reduction of the usual yellow area due to this, gives the normal violet dusting of the ocellus a lighter shade. On the hindwings the ocellus is divided up into three well-shaped black-margined blue spots, the usual light surrounding suffusion being swallowed up, thus the three ocelli stand out on a dark ground.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Hindwings with the blue ocellus reduced to two small separated spots, which are surrounded by the usual light suffusion. Forewings normal.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
On the hindwings the ocellus is absent, only the light suffusion remaining.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
On the forewings the blue tints of the ocellus are changed to grey.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Pearly grey, with a rusty-grey outer border on fore and hindwings passing into the ground colour.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Forewings with the black basal suffusion reaching as far as the first costal blotch.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Hindwings deep black without any markings. Forewings similar, the three black costal spots and the broadened margin completely united with one another so that the whitish spots fail completely. The black is extended downwards across the central area to the inner margin and there united with a black spot in the first intercostal space. The figure shows all wings entirely black.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
Smaller than normal; about half the size.
Natural History Museum
britishbutterflyaberrations.co.uk (all aberrations)
