EREBIA. By G. Eiffingek. 95 



rarely ringed, the club elongate and somewhat flattened. Thorax and abdomen with a sparse silky pile. 

 Neuration not constant and therefore of no value for characterizing the genus. 



These butterflies have a well developed tongue and imbibe the honey of (lowers, especially of 

 Gompositae, as well as the moisture on wet places on the ground; but the specimens thus engaged belong 

 almost exclusively to the male sex; the females are sluggish, sitting mostly among the grass, waiting for 

 their mate, and not before copulation has taken place and a portion of the eggs been deposited does the 

 female fly about in search of food. The eggs are not laid or fastened on the stalks of the food-plant, but 

 the female drops thun on the ground among the grass. The snail-like larva, with globular head, ta[)ers 

 strongly backwards, ending in two small points, and bears usually })aler and darker longitudinal stripes. 

 The larva is known of but few species. Various kinds of grass serve as food-plants. These butterflies 

 have only one brood. 



The .species of PJrebia fly in mountainous and hilly districts, inhabiting especially the alpine regions 

 of the Palaearctic countries of Europe and Asia, and of America, only a few forms descending into the 

 plains. The area of distribution extends from the mountains of South Spain to the Pacific Ocean in East 

 Asia. America will here not be taken into considerati(jn. 



The principal portion of the distribution-area, or the district of the whole area which is richest in 

 species, are the Gentrai Alps of Europe, which alone hai'bour 24 out of about 70 known species, the other 

 members of the genus being distrilmted over the vast area and occurring in certain definite districts. 

 7 European species (disa, medusa, aethiops, eiiiUn, tijndariis, euryalus, ligea) have become distributed far into 

 Eastern Asia, while not one of the Gentrai Asiatic Erebias has penetrated into Europe: they appear to have 

 remained stationary. Though the species of L'rebia from Gentrai Asia agree in aspect and colour on the 

 whole with the European forms, some species are quite different in pattern from the European Erebias, 

 deviating also in aspect. This is true especially of mmii and its subforms, pannenio, hilmuka, radians, mara- 

 randica, hades, Iristis, saiicuhi, etc. This group approaches more Callerebia and may be regarded to a 

 certain extent as a connecting link between the genera Erebut and Callerebia, which are very closely 

 related to one another. 



As is well known , the Erel)ias vary ver}' much in the distinctness of the markings , as well as ni 

 colour and size. This variability is often so great as to render it almost impossible to recognize to which 

 species certain . individuals belong. The figures of Erebias in the present work naturally illustrate this 

 variability but incompletel}'. In the descriptions of the various species the deviations from the ordinary 

 characters of the species have been referred to, as far as it appeared necessary. 



The descriptions are given in the order adopted by Staudingek and Rebel in their Gatalogue of l'.H)l. 



E. epiphron. Above dark brown , the distal margin brownish grey. Before the distal margin of 

 the forewing a russet transverse band which is divided by the veins and bears 3 — 4 black ocelli, which are 

 larger and usually white-centred in the ?. Also on the hindwing the band is transsected by the veins, 

 being broken up into 3, rarely 4, ovate spots bearing black ocelli, which have now and again small white 

 pupils. Underside similar to upper, but lighter; on the forewing the band is sharply defined distally, but 

 gradually vanishes in the ground-colour basally. Antenna black-brown above, whitish grey beneath. — The 

 form occurring in the Harz Mts. , from which Knoch described the species, must be regarded nymotypical 

 epiphron Knoch {=z egea Bkh.) (36 a). In specimens from the Altvater in Silesia and from the Yosges epiphron. 

 colour and pattern are less developed than in sjiecimens from the Harz ; they must be considered transitions 

 towards the alpine form cassiope. — cassiope F. (= melampus Esp., alcyone BUi., aethiops minor T7//., cassiope. 

 rhodia Hbti.) (36a) is as a rule somewhat smaller than the first-described form; the russet band of the 

 forewing is narrower, less sharply defined and usually separated into isolated spots. There are 3 — 4 black 

 dots in the band, often hardly visible. The hindwing has some small brown spots before the outer margin 

 bearing sometimes black dots. The ? is somewhat larger than the cf , the wings being narrower and having 

 a paler ground. In ab. nelamus Boisd. (= cassiope Meijer-Diir) (36 a) the russet distal band is almost nelamns. 

 entirely efiaced by the extension of the ground-colour, being separated into small spots which bear hardly 

 visible black dots; the hindwing is without markings. Occasionally there occur also uniformly black specimens 

 without any markings. — A somewhat larger form with Avell-developed and continuous band bearing 4 — 5 

 larger ocelli in the same is valesiana Meijer-DUr, occurring in the Alps of Southern Wallis. — mnemon valcsianu. 

 Hew. has a paler ground and bears on the forewing 3 — 4 black dots which are liordered with russet-yellow, mnemon. 

 The hindwing without markings. This form, as well as ab. obsoleta Tnti with flie uniformly black-brown ohsoleta. 

 wings having no trace of markings, inhabits the mountains of Scotland. — pyrenaica U.-Sclidff. (36a) is pyrenaica. 

 somewhat larger than cassiope, the band being broader and the ocelli larger; from the western Pyrenees. — 

 The eggs of epiphron are elliptic, ribbed, yellowish green, the larva appearing after 14 days. The adult 

 larva is green with dark longitudinal lines and \ellow lateral stripe; the anal processes brownish. Thej^ 

 feed on grasses, especially Aira praecox and caespitosa. Pupa light grey. The butterflies are on the wing 

 from May to August, occurring in grassy and somewhat moist localities, not being rare at their 

 thght-places. 



