THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 155 



THE BUTTERFLIES OF LAGGAN, N. W. T.; ACCOUNT OF 



CERTAIN SPECIES INHABITING THE ROCKY 



MOUNTAINS IN LATITUDE 51° 25'. 



BY THOMAS E. BEAN, LAGGAN, ALBERTA. 



(Continued frojn page i4g, Vol. 25 J 

 Argynnis aphirape, var. Ossl^nus, Herbst. 



My local material allied to the European Aphirape consists of 22 

 males, 1 1 females. These have been studied in comparison with 3 c^ , i 

 5 typical ApJiirapc from Germany, 2 (^ 2 $ Aphirape var. Ossianus 

 from Northern Finland, i S Ossianus from Sweden, i (J i ? Aphirape 

 var. Triclaris from Labrador, and 3 c? i ? Triclaris collected by Mr. 

 H. K. Morrison in southern Colorado. In the local series the following 

 relationships are displayed : — One male is Triclaris, agreeing closely on 

 upper surface with the Colorado males, but on the under side nearer to 

 the sing'.e Labrador male. Five males and four females are Aphirape 

 var. Ossianus. The remaining 16 males and 7 females are of an inter- 

 grade type, combining features of Ossianus and Triclaris. On under 

 side these compare closely with my Labrador pair of Triclaris, having 

 the spots of secondaries mainly surfaced in nacre and very conspicuous. 

 On upper side, however, they are distinctively of the Ossianus type. 



Triclaris is by some authors considered a distinct species. The 

 examination I have now made results adversely to that view. As above 

 shown, the Laggan material contains over 25 per cent, of examples which 

 are formal Ossianus, with about 75 per cent, of specimens combining the 

 character of Ossianus upper surface with an extreme degree of Triclaris 

 quality below. In order to make a reasonable plea for the distinctness 

 of Triclaris from Aphirape, it would be requisite to prove that Ossianus 

 and Aphirape in the European fauna are mutually independent. For 

 Ossianus certainly is a resident in the bogs of Laggan, and just as surely 

 the Laggan intergrade series identifies Triclaris with Ossianus. 



In the Laggan series appears nothing very close to typical Aphirape. 

 In fact, 75 per cent, of the Laggan occurrence is at the farthest point of 

 separation from Aphirape. 



Triclaris of Colorado is the North American form nearest to typical 

 Aphirape, which it greatly resembles on upper side, and the Laggan form 

 as markedly resembles Ossianus. It is also worthy of special note that 

 in Triclaris of Colorado, as in typical Aphirape, the colour-pattern is 



