Hamilton. — On Lepidoptera from tlic Qaeenstown District. 47 



Erebia pluto, var. micans. 



My son writes with great enthusiasm of his first sight of this alpine 

 species and wired to me that he had taken some. This was early in 

 December, and I could hardly believe that he had correctly identified them ; 

 but when they came to hand I was glad to find that not only were they 

 Erebia, but they were in some respects different from the specimens which 

 I had seen from Mount Arthur and Mount Peel. 



The specimens were in the best possible condition, and are evidently 

 much earlier in appearing than has been supposed, as Mr. Hudson* gives 

 January, February, and March. It is recorded in the same work as being 

 taken by him at Wakatipu, but there is no mention of any considerable 

 variation. The first box of specimens was accompanied by a note, in 

 which my son drew my attention to the spangling of golden scales on the 

 imderside hindwings, and to the intense velvet-black of the specimens'^as 

 contrasted with the cabinet specimens from Mount Arthur. Some of their 

 rich black has disappeared now that the specimens have been set, but the 

 golden scales are still apparent in the majority of cases, though less bright. 

 They are found on both male and female. By the kindness of Mr. A. McKay, 

 an enlarged photograph was taken of the under-surface, which showed the 

 brilliant reflecting scales, implanted at irregular distances, but all in the 

 same direction as the others, so that there is no possibility of their having 

 been derived by accident in the killing-bottle or in the packing from some 

 other species. Their appearance is very beautiful under the microscope. 

 I have examined the specimens in Mr. Hudson's collection and in two 

 other collections without finding any bright scales of this kind on the under- 

 surface of the hindwings. The average size of the Otago specimens is 

 smaller than that of the Momit Arthur ones. 



From the notes that accompanied the specimens it appears that the 

 Erebia is found in small colonies. 



From the early date at which the majority of the specimens were 

 obtained it is possible that the spangled form may be either an early brood 

 or a very local form. The usual variations are to be foimd in the number 

 and arrangement of the white centres to the ocelli, but they are uniformly 

 smaller than in the northern specimens which are available for comparison, 

 being in some cases barely visible. The pale spots visible on the under- 

 surface of the hindwings of E. pluto are in the majority of cases not to be 

 distinguished in this variety. 



I have not examined the venation. 



Of thirteen specimens from Mount Arthur and Mount Peel in the 

 Museum collection, I find that the maximum expanse of the forewing is 

 51 mm. and the minimum 45 mm. Of the thirty-five Otago specimens 

 in the collection, the maximum is 46 mm. and the minimum 40 mm. 



Altogether this form is so different from the specimens available from 

 other localities that I suggest for it as a varietal name E. pluto, var. micans. 



The first Erebias were caught on the upper Arrow Eiver and on Mount 

 Hyde, at about 6,000 ft., about the 20th November ;f one colony was 

 found near the Premier Mine on the 1 9th December ; and on the 30th 

 January they had all disappeared. 



The genus is a very variable one, and in all alpine regions local forms 

 are very numerous. 



* Hudson, " New Zealand Moths and Butterflies," p. 114. 

 t They were then copulating. 



