80 LEPIDOPTERA. 



review almost all the peculiarly northern Macro-lei^idoptera 

 of Britain, and curiously the only one that has not been met 

 with in that entomological paradise, Rannoch, is Phothcdes 

 Captiuncula and Dr. White's own discovery of Zygcena 

 Exulans. 



In this Alpine fauna we have the following species pecu- 

 liar to Britain: Lyccena Artaxerxes, Acronycta Myricm^ 

 Oporabia Jiligrammaria, and the three Scoparice, — S. Sco- 

 tica, S. Atomalis, and S. Alpina. 



The following are only found in Scotland and the northern 

 parts of Europe : Crymodes Exulis, Anarta Melanopa, 

 Scottish form, and Scoparia Gracilalis. Our author gives 

 Dasypolia Tcmpli as probably of Scandinavian origin, but 

 it is found in the Tyrol, and is not a boreal insect in England, 

 the south of Devon being one of its best localities. This evi- 

 dence from Lepidoptera of a group peculiar to Scotland with 

 the great northern land is very slight, but if one species only 

 be ultimately proved to be common to the two districts, it is 

 enough to establish the point. This is scarcely the case with 

 mere climatic varieties, such as, for example, Anai^ta Mela- 

 nopa, for it is evident that there is a tendency to similarity 

 of variation under similarity of circumstance: hence the 

 variety or race of one district often arises spontaneously as 

 an aberration elsewhere; thus, Ccenonympha Davus, var. 

 Isis, occurs as an aberration in Perthshire, as also seems to 

 be the case with the Swiss variety litter ata of Euclidia 3Ii; 

 the fact is, however, too well known to need any proof. 

 There must have been at some part of the world's history a 

 large circumpolar land, including Greenland, Iceland and 

 part of Norway ; did it reach to the north of Scotland ? 

 This is a cm^ious and interesting question, and one which 

 rests, as far as Lepidoptera are concerned, on the evidence 

 here pointed out. The presence of Ranunctdus Glacialis 



