110 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Voi. iv. 



It has become an established fact that those color-bands with charm- 

 ing ocellated spots that so enhance butterfly kind, should everywhere 

 vary, and in certain localities vanish ; and many drab and brown wings 

 fluttering among grass and shade, and from time to time have exhibited 

 hillsman's spots that have caused a cry of new species, or prompted ex- 

 perts to enter on description where others see but variety. The large 

 Heath Butterfly may be reckoned among these. This kind in the 

 north of England at an elevation of two thousand feet, according 

 to Mr. T. Marshall, and in some parts of Ireland, according to Mr. 

 Birchall, has the eyes painted on its sandy wings greatly decreased in 

 number ; and on the Perthshire Mountains, conjointly with the English 

 type, an aberration is sometimes seen even less ocellated, and this 

 anomaly we find has established itself in Lapland as the local form isis 

 of the species, the most boreal variation. Our species are said to be 

 darker than the same or allied forms in Europe. 



It has frequently been noticed that in the mountains of Europe, as 

 well as in this country, that as we ascend the butterfly becomes 

 smaller and darker and their sexes often lose the color differentiation. 

 Woody coverts and proximity to the sea, as also the smoke of towns 

 and manufacturing districts, are associated with variety and melanism. 

 The system of variation in such localities is the same and the cause 

 is constant, while external conditions of environment are multifarious. 

 Thus the shades of New Forest afford a constant variety, valesina of 

 Argy finis paphia, which instead of being fulvous is brown and spotted 

 instead of streaked along the nervures; it will thus be noted that altitude 

 produces much the same effect as shade." Erebia blandina, from 

 Morecombe Bay, has the brown bands on the fore-wings replaced by 

 yellow. 



The Lepidoptera at Hastings and on the coast of Wales have been 

 noticed as being often deviations from the types. On small islands 

 butterflies have been considered to have enlarged wings, but it should 

 then be noticed these islands lay far south in latitude, a consideration 

 that might cause us to hesitate in accepting the premises on Darwin's 

 explanatory theory that the larger wings are acquired from battling with 

 the winds. "Species found in Japan have a much greater expanse 

 than the individuals of the same species from Europe. Albinism is 

 thought sometimes to be produced from light colored soils. Thus it is 

 active on the English Chalk Downs, where it produces varieties in un- 

 stable genera of moths." The large Heath Butterfly is a very large 

 insect (var. typhori) in Cumberland and Scotland on high hills ; whilst 



