THE LYCiENID^ OF NORTH KENT. 257 



west Europe at a time when it was not connected with France ? 

 If it was then connected with France, was not that the more 

 probable route of the advancing icarKs, if, indeed, icarKs ever 

 did advance in that sort of way ? If England was not then 

 connected with France, what becomes of the blown-over theory '? 

 Why should not that be at least as likely as the early post- 

 glacial Scandinavian invasion theory. Or does Mr. South 

 contend that icariis was in North-west Europe, meaning I 

 suppose Scandinavia, at a time when it was not in France ? 



Will Mr. South give us his reasons for these speculations ? 

 Surelj^ to state in so ex cathedra a way that in the middle post- 

 glacial epoch L. hellargus and L. corydon jireceded L. argiadcs in 

 its appearance in this country, and were themselves long 

 preceded in the early post-glacial times by L. icarus and L. cegori; 

 that L. argiadcs has always been with us, but that L. ha;tica, 

 ajjpearing here under almost similar circumstances, is a recent 

 acquisition ; that some species first invaded Scotland, others 

 England ; is to claim an omniscience fortunately denied to 

 mankind. 



55, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Sept. 10, 1887. 



THE LYC^NID^ OF NORTH KENT. 



By J. W. TuTT, F.E.S. 



Mr. South and I apparently hold very different views as to 

 the relation between our three species (hitherto so-called) of the 

 genus Lyccena, viz., icarus, corydon, and hellargus (Entom. 220). 

 Granted that Mr. South does not consider his use of the terms 

 "hybrid" and "mongrel" synonymous, I believe that those 

 who look upon the three species as perfectly distinct do not 

 perceive the difference. With a fairly good continental collection 

 of Lycsenidae, comprising all the species Mr. South mentions 

 (Entom. 1 — 127) and many more for reference, I find that, 

 although there is much in his remarks (Entom. 1 — 127) with 

 which I am in perfect accord, his suggestion that the above-named 

 species are not " pure species " does not commend itself to me ; 

 and I must add that I believe the differences between any two 

 of these three species to be quite equal to that between the more 

 closely allied European Argynnidae and Melitaeae, and their distinct 



ENTOM. — OCT. 1887. 2 k 



