EREBIA EPIPHRON, KNOCK. 147 



The passages in the above underlined do not occur in the 

 earlier editions. In both editions Rhodia, Hb., as a synonym 

 for Cassiope is ignored, and in that of 1871 neither var. mnemon 

 nor ab. obsoleta find a place. 



The first authentic account of Erebia epiphron, then, occurs 

 in Knoch's ' Beitrage,' t. iii, p. 178 (1783), and the description 

 is accompanied by an excellent illustration. Unfortunately the 

 figure (tab. vi, fig. 7) is of one sex only, and one side of it — a 

 female — though the letterpress leaves us entirely in the dark as 

 to which sex the author is defining, or, indeed, whether he 

 differentiated the sexes at all, or had the material before him for 

 the purpose when he wrote. It is, however, essential that we 

 should keep Knoch's original description well before us alike in 

 considering the genesis of the name and the relation of Knoch's 

 Papilio epiphron to the Cassiope of Fabricius, and of those who 

 followed him. At least there can be no question that Knoch 

 fixed the type, and this from specimens captured by himself in 

 the Brocken region. 



" Papilio Nymphalis Gemmatus Epiphron. — Pap. Nymph. Gem. 

 alls rotundatis fuscis, fascia rufa : utrobique ocellis seu maculis nigris 

 pro individuis diversis. Long. lin. 7-8^ ; lat. 5-5|. 



" Descr. AntenncB, ' Pap. Tab.,' vi, fig. 7, capitatae nigrae, subtus 

 albescentes. Palpi, oculi ac totum corpus fusco-nigra. Fascige 

 transverste margines abhorrent. Alee supieriores ante ocellis duobus 

 seu pluribus, saepius maculis tantum vel punctis nigris ; post eadem 

 ratio. Inferiores supra ocellos tres infra totidem plures (q)ue seu 

 maculas exhibent." 



I translate the German description, which follows, as below : 



" The antennge of the butterfly figured on Plate vi, fig. 7, are 

 long ; dirty white beneath ; for the rest quite black. The head and 

 its several parts and the entire body are also of that colour. The 

 wings on both sides are black-brown. Not far from the outer margin 

 is a broad, and on the underside a narrower, orange-brown coloured 

 diagonal band, of which the upper and lower parts are not in contact. 

 On the upper side of the former there are in the band two or more 

 black eyes with white pupils. A like number more or less on the 

 underside. On the hind wings there are usually two on the upper 

 side, and beneath a similar or even larger number. I have seen them 

 with six eyes. Some examples, instead of eye-markings, have on 

 one or even on both sides black marks or spots only. When the 

 eye-spots and mai'kings are taken into consideration, variations of 

 this butterfly are fou^nd in plenty. Very close to Papilio ligea, Esp. 

 (' Esp. Schm.,' 1 Th., tab. vii, fig. 2), it is to be distinguished by the 

 broader and darker bands. I have met with one example, the wing 

 of which is 8 lines long and 6 lines broad. Then it is very diflicult 

 to find a specimen of Ligea which is without pupillations or markings 

 as in our butterfly. 



" I found it in a fir wood on the way to the Brocken, near Oder- 



