224 LEPIDOPTERA. 



coast, since I bave found it on sucli sandhills at Hunstanton 

 with a strong tendency towards the same colour. In the west, 

 and still more in the north of Ireland, this portion of the 

 hind wings assumes another phase of variation, the reason of 

 which is not equally apparent — the usually rather pale trans- 

 verse band, with the angulated inner edge, becomes whitish, 

 or even in some cases brightly white, contrasting strongly 

 with the darker portions, which are unusually dark. This 

 change of colour merely makes the butterfly more like a 

 mottled stone. Perhaps this is more especially a seaside 

 variation, as I have certainly seen it also on the east coast, 

 and it is often accompanied by a tendency to brighter colour- 

 ing of the upper side, the pale blotches increasing in size, 

 and being more filled up with fulvous, in the male ; and 

 sometimes extending themselves towards the base of the fore 

 wings in the female. On the other hand, in these coast 

 specimens, the lower round black sfiot of the fore wings 

 becomes sometimes reduced on the under side to a mere dot, 

 and I have one male in which this is also the case above. 

 Mr. Capper has a female in which this spot is totally absent 

 above, and the upper round spot is reduced to a dot, which is 

 placed in a long stripe of pale colour running far towards the 

 base of the wing ; and Mr. S. Webb has one similar, with the 

 stripe running to the costa, and a male with but one small 

 spot on each fore wing. On the other hand, he has some 

 with three or even four spots in the pale band above, in some 

 cases three of them white-centred ; and others without the 

 usual ocellated spot of the hind wings ; a male with a large 

 portion of the upper side of fore and hind wings greyish 

 white ; and another with half the under side of the fore wings 

 of a rich chocolate. Dr. Mason has one in which all the 

 ordinarily dark portion of the upper side is of a pale golden 

 brown colour ; and Mr. Adkin a male specimen, from the Isle 

 of Man, in which a pale fulvous cloud occupies the middle of 

 the dark basal portion of the fore wings. Specimens from 

 the west of Ireland are often of a very rich brown colour, 



