226 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



flower-head for protection. I took two very fine icarus females 

 (= var. carulea), completely suffused with sky-blue to the wing mar- 

 gins, with brilliant orange ocellations on the margin of the fore 

 and hind wings alike, and in size equal to the largest males. 

 They seem most to resemble the Sligo specimens described and 

 figured (PI. II. fig. 11) in the 'Entomologist,' vol. xx. p. 74, by 

 Mr. South, or rather to come between this and the figure of 

 L. hellargus var. ceronus (PL II. fig. 12), while the only male 

 retained is referable to the ab. icarinus, Scriba. Meanwhile, on 

 the hawkweed, Erehia ligea var. adyte was not uncommon, and 

 in superb condition ; and flitting restlessly up the river-bed, and 

 over the rocks, occurred a fine brightly-marked form of E. lap- 

 pona, of which some were the ab. pollux, Esp., with the central 

 band on the under side of the hind wings tending to obsolescence; 

 though in some examples the band is very sharply defined ; while 

 it is perhaps worth remarking that the ocellations of the lower 

 wings, where not absolutely obsolete, are in all my six examples 

 reduced to mere black spots. With them, and higher up, Argijnnis 

 pales var. lapponica was in profusion, hut the two or three A. 

 euphrosyne I captured belong, not as might be expected, to the 

 smaller and darker yox.fingal, but are in every way similar to the 

 typical form of the English woods. A. selene I did not meet 

 with at Abisko in any form. But among the fritillaries, I have 

 since identified one rather worn male A. aphirape var. ossianus, 

 and a very fresh female, so I must have overlooked this species 

 on the spot — a matter of some disappointment, as I did not meet 

 with it elsewhere. Of the skippers, the only species captured was 

 Augiades comma ab. catena, singly. Fieris napi, just emerged, with 

 one very tawny ab. bryonia (female), represented the "whites." 

 The Vanessidae were entirely absent, as well as the ParnassidsB, 

 of which family the only example I saw in Sweden (where it 

 occurs commonly enough on the southern and central moun- 

 tains, I o believe) was beside the railway near a station named Skor- 

 ped, in Angermanland. With further occasional Polyommatus var. 

 steiberi, I do not remember to have observed any other butterflies 

 at Abisko, and must conclude therefore that I was much too 

 early on the ground, which, being at an elevation of about 

 1100 ft. above the sea-level, and at rather more than sixty-eight 

 degrees north, would evidently be better investigated in a late 

 season like this some weeks later in July. As it was, the country 

 further north-west along the railway to the frontier, which I 

 visited in excursions to the beautiful Bjorkliden Fall, and the 

 Lapp encampments at the head of the Tornetrask, on Palno- 

 viken Bay, was promising in appearance, with an abundant flora 

 and much grass ; but save as producing a few more Geometers, 

 picked up by the lake-side, the days I made these little expedi- 

 tions were all against collecting other than pleasant recollections 

 and photographs of the primitive people whom so far contact 



