IVlll LLOYDS NATURAL HISTORY. 



Butterflies being found in their neighbourhood. But north 

 and south the species thin out very rapidly, especially to the 

 north-west. The mountains of Great Britain, South Spain, and 

 South Italy produce hardly any truly alpine species; and 

 many of our familiar Central European species become moun- 

 tain insects in the Sierra Nevada. Scandinavia is almost as 

 rich in species of Butterflies as Southern Spain ; and both 

 countries produce nearly twice as many species as Great 

 Britain, which has not only the disadvantage of being a north- 

 western country, but is also an island. Great Britain produces 

 less than seventy species of Butterflies, and there are many 

 localities, even in North France and Germany, which would 

 produce nearly as many species within the radius of a few 

 miles. On the south coast of the Mediterranean the number 

 of species is still further reduced, for many species do not 

 cross the sea. The extreme North is not without Butterflies, 

 many species being met with in Labrador, Lapland, &c. ; and 

 even in Greenland species of CEneis, Brenlhis, Polyonunatus, 

 and Colias have been met with almost as far north as our 

 explorers have yet penetrated. But so far as is known, no in- 

 digenous Butterfly is found in Iceland. 



In Europe and the Mediterranean District three sub-regions 

 can be identified : the Central European, the Alpine and Arctic, 

 and the Central Steppe- Faunae. The last extends from the 

 Himalayas through Western and Central Asia, and alone; the 

 southern coast of the Mediterranean to the Canaries; and here 

 it may be mentioned that islands, though often very poor in 

 species, are generally very rich in peculiar species or well- 

 marked local varieties. This is well exemplified by Corsica, 

 Sardinia, Madeira, the Canaries, and New Zealand, and to a 

 lesser extent, even by the British Islands. 



Very few species of typical Indian or African genera, such 

 as DanauSi Neptis^ and Charaxes extend into Europe, but in 



