" t t 



VOL. XXII. 



LONDON, APRIL, 1890. 



No. 



4- 



ON CERTAIN STATEMENTS IN SCUDDER'S '■' BUTTERFLIES 



OF NEW ENGLAND." 



BY W. H. EDWARDS, COALBURGH, WEST VA. 



As Mr. Scudder has charged me with blunders of one sort or other, I 

 am compelled to notice the matter, as silence on my part would properly 

 be construed as an acknowledgement that he was right. 



I. On p. 1805, the synonymy of Argynnis (Brenthis) Freija is given, 

 closing thus: "Argynnis Chariclea Edw., in his catalogues." And on 

 p. 1808, under Chariclea : "Argynnis Freya Edw., in his cat." 



In the text, p. 1807, we read that " Freija is a circumpolar species in 

 the strictest sense, being found on the northern shores of both worlds, 

 and in each extending southward to the habitable zone. * "^ * In 

 the New World it occurs from x\laska to Labrador, * * * 2ji\^ in 

 the Rocky Mountain region as far south as Lake La Hache and Crow's 

 Nest Pass, west of Fort McLeod. It is said by Edwards to occur in 

 Colorado, but the specimens obtained there by Mr. Mead, to which he 

 probably refers, belong to the next species " (i. e. to Chariclea), " while 

 three from Nepigon, referred by him to Chariclea, belong here " (i. e. to 

 Freya). 



On page 1805, under Chariclea, we read ; " This northern butterfly 

 inhabits circumpolar lands on either side of the Atlantic, but extends 

 much further southward on the western than on the eastern continent, 

 being found * * * not only in Greenland and Labrador, but •'' * * 

 even (in) Colorado," etc. 



Now, although I knew I had not mistaken one of these species for 

 the other, as alleged, I got from Mr. Bruce a pair of the Colorado form, 

 taken by him last summer, and mailed them to Mr. Butler, British Museum, 

 asking whicii species they were. Tlie reply came two weeks ago, short, 

 sharp and decisive : " Your species is Freya ; it can by no means be 

 confounded with C/^<?;7V/<?<z * * * It has nothing to do with Chariclea^ 



