

JOURNAL OF VARIATION 



No. 10. Vol. II. October 15th, 1891. 



^Jariation. 



Variation in British Lepidoptera. — When the introduction of 

 the Linnasan or binomial system of nomenclature, and the example and 

 enthusiasm of the great Swede and his contemporaries, had imparted 

 new life to the study of nature, there was a tendency everywhere towards 

 a multiplication of specific names. Hence, in the earlier manuals and 

 catalogues, forms which we now know to be merely varieties or 

 conditions, are accorded full specific rank. As time went on, and 

 knowledge increased, naturalists began to see that many of these were 

 merely subsidiary forms, and reduced them to the rank of varieties. 

 More extended studies showed that in some cases even this position 

 was not tenable, and so the names were sunk as mere synonyms. 

 Many varieties were, however, retained, but the real significance of such 

 forms was not understood ; no system of classifying them had been 

 tried ; no attempt been made to account for their origin. In a word, 

 no Darwin had arisen to instruct naturalists to penetrate, if possible, 

 into the arcana tiatiirce. Now that the fauna and flora of the British 

 Islands has been, to a large extent, well worked out, naturalists, who 

 are not on the one hand merely collectors, nor on the other purely 

 biologists, have begun to turn their attention to other matters than 

 simply amassing material; and amongst other things have commenced 

 to give a more serious study to the subject of variation and its origin. 

 That the study of variation, as it occurs in wild animals and plants, is 

 still in its infancy must be admitted. At the same time sufficient 

 attention has been paid to it to show that not only is it one of much 

 interest but of no little difficulty. For its proper elucidation a large 

 amount of material, both in specimens and in observations, is necessary. 

 When this has been collected, it is possible that problems which are 

 still obscure may be cleared up. As a help to this desirable result we 

 therefore welcome a recently published work ' on one group of the 

 British Lepidoptera, a class of the Insecta which, not only on account 

 of the number of species contained in it, but from its popularity with 

 collectors, affords ample material for the study of variation. In the 

 text of his book Mr. Tutt does not enter upon the subject of the cause 



^ The British NoctiicB and their Varieties. By J. W. Tutt. London : Swan, 

 Sonnenschein and Co. Vol. i. 1891. 



