BRITISH BUTTERFLIES. 



3. NIOBE. The costal margin of the fore 

 wings is arched, the tip obtuse, and the liind 

 margin ratlier convex and slightly scalloped ; 

 the hiud margin of the hind wings is more 

 decidedly scalloped, but still not deeply so ; 

 the colour of the upper surface is bright sienna- 

 brown, with the customary black markings; 

 in the male the brown colour extends nearly 

 to the base, as in Adippe ; in the female the 

 base is dark brown or black, and adorned with 

 metallic-green reflections, as in Aglaia : be- 

 neath, the silver spots of the hind wings are 

 arranged as in Adippe, the supplementary 

 series of minute silver spots being present, 

 but somewhat indistinct ; all the silver spots 

 have distinct black borders. 



Var. Eris. All the discoidal silver spots 

 on the under side of the hind wings are re- 

 placed by pale oclireous spots,without metallic 

 tints, their black borders being even more 

 distinct than in the type ; the submarginal 

 series of minute spots still retain their silvery 

 hue, and the silver also appears in the sub- 

 marginal lunules. 



LIFE HISTORY. The CATERPILLAR is cover- 

 ed with long branched white spines ; its back 

 is dark brown, nearly black, with a rather nar- 

 row medio-dorsal white stripe, which is inter- 

 sected by a thread-like black line ; there is a 

 sub-dorsal series of eight oblique or acutely 

 triangular white mat kings, all of which point 

 forwards : the sides are brown, intersected by 

 two vry slender white stripes ; the head is 

 dmk brown, the leg's dark brown, and the 

 claspers reddish. It feeds on the wild heart's- 

 ease (Viola tricolor). Hiibner 8 figure. 



LOCALITIES. This species is abundant on 

 the Continent. A single specimen was taken 

 in the New Forest last summer by Mr. Ger- 

 rard, of Lyndhurst, and was purchased by the 

 Rev. Windsor Hambrough, as recorded in the 

 " Entomologist," p. 351. 



Obs. Mr. Bond (Entom. v. 17) and Mr. 

 A. G. Butler (Entom. v. 28) express an 

 opinion that this species is only a variety of 

 Adippe, but neither of these gentlemen assigns 

 a reason for taking this view of the case. At 

 a recent meeting of the Entomological Society 

 &ir. Albert MUlter mentioned that Moyer-Diir 



had pointed out certain differences between 

 the caterpillar of Argynnis Adippe and Niobe: 

 in his '' Verzeichniss der Schmetterlinge der 

 8chweiz," published in 1852, that author 

 states that Argynnis .Niobe in Switzerland in- 

 habits only the alpine and sub-alpine regions 

 I'roin 3000 5GOO feet above the sea, and that 

 its caterpillar has in the full-grown state a 

 white dorsal stripe and flesh-coloured spines, 

 whilst A. Adippe is not found at a greater 

 elevation than 3300 feet, and its caterpillar 

 has no white dorsal stripe, but a pale-reddish 

 lateral stripe instead. Mr. Muller argued, 

 that though the food-plants of both were 

 various species of violet, until this evidence 

 was rebutted, or unless two different cater- 

 pillars produced the same form of butterfly 

 unless there were dimorphic caterpillars 

 Adippe and Niobe must be considered distinct 

 species, even though (which he did not admit) 

 the perfect butterflies were undistinguishable. 

 Mr. Butler replied that he was not acquainted 

 with the caterpillars of Argynnis Adippe and 

 Niobe. and his suggestion that the two forms 

 were one species was made from observation 

 of the perfect insects only ; he had found the 

 two flying together, and the sexes pursuing 

 one another : he thought the differences 

 between the butterflies, without amounting to 

 specific distinction, might be accounted for by 

 differences in the external conditions to which 

 they were subject. An instance of iliis kind 

 had lately come under his notice; in India, 

 Captain Lang had been in the habit of taking 

 what at the time of capture he thought were 

 two distinct butterflies, one in marshy land, 

 the other in dry situations, the marsh insect 

 being thickly covered with down, the highland 

 insect not; but Captain Lang was now satisfied 

 that the two were but one species, Callerebia 

 Scanda, which was liable to modification by 

 surrounding circumstances. Entomologists 

 seem scarcely aware how extensive a subject 

 is opened for discussion if they once maintain 

 that two entirely different caterpillars can 

 possibly produce the same species of butterfly. 



4. THE HIGH-BROWN FRITILLART. T!^ 

 costal margin is arched thf tip roundel, and 



