Melitaea phoebe phoebina Turati, 1920

Melitaea phoebe phoebina Turati, 1920 View in CoL

[TL: Italy, Calabria, Aspromonte, 1400 m]; this form was described on page 222 and the uppersides figured on tav. II figs 4 11 and 5 00, from which it appears to be a fairly heavily marked form, hence Verity’s suggestion that the ab. totila of Stauder (see above) equated to this subspecies. The undersides were not figured by Turati but the forewing apices appear rounded as in M. ornata . According to CONCI & POGGI (1996) the collection of E. Turati is in the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy, (MRSN). NEKRUTENKO (1993: 129) listed the type material of Turati in this museum and referring to this subspecies stated that there were two female syntypes from the Aspromonte Mountains in the Province of Reggio Calabria, Italy and identified them as Melitaea phoebe , being unaware of the specific separation of M. ornata .

Unfortunately, the entomology collections in the Turin Museum are not currently accessible for administrative reasons and it has not been possible to inspect type material. However, it is possible to make a speculative identification, based on current knowledge of the distributions of the two species. Based on the collecting locality, this subspecies is almost certainly M. ornata as M. phoebe sensu strictu has not been recorded this far south in peninsular Italy; its limit appears to be Calabria, Cosenza, Monte Martinelli ( RUSSELL & PATEMAN, 2011), where M. ornata also occurs. Six males and one female of this subspecies are present in the Rothschild collection in the Natural History Museum London (Russell and Tennent, pers obs.). This taxon was not considered by VAN OORSCHOT & COUTSIS (2014) but RUSSELL & TENNENT (2016: 51, note 67) suggested it was M. ornata because of its location in southern peninsular Italy.