About Maniola telmessia Zeller, 1847
This entry describes Maniola telmessia Zeller, 1847, originally referenced as Z. telmessia in Seitz. This form is found in Cyprus and the opposite district of Asia Minor. Males are distinguished by a differently shaped scent-patch. The ground-colour around the tip of this patch is a lighter brown, which makes the patch appear much brighter, more velvety, and more prominent. In females, the disc is bright foxy brown rather than ochre-yellow. The underside is also slightly different from nymotypical Maniola jurtina in both sexes. Specimens from Cyprus are reported to have much more rounded forewings, though similar shape variations also occur as rare exceptions elsewhere in Europe. Most specimens typically sold as telmessia generally belong to south-eastern local forms of hispulla, and the exact direction of variation for these forms has yet to be determined more accurately. True Cyprian specimens are figured as 47 b, while 48 a shows a specimen from the Danube in which the characteristic features of telmessia are expressed much more strongly.
