COLOUR-VARIATION 



variations, and its fur is in some cases of much lighter 

 colour, in others, of deeper. Colour variations are of 

 no scarce occurrence among insects and fishes, and in 

 a recent number of the Entomologists Record and 

 Journal of Variation - 1 an interesting coloured plate 

 may be seen, illustrating more vividly than whole 

 volumes of description, the colour variations which 

 Mr. J. A. Clark has met with among the British 

 species of SmerintJius. 



Lacordaire records similar facts concerning the 

 Sphinx elpenor, Audouin has some concerning Pyralis 

 vitis, and Duges concerning Phasma. Among insects, 

 again, Hulst has noticed a large amount of variation. 

 From one and the same Arctia excelsa he has obtained 

 a number of eggs and larvae which have yielded adult 

 butterflies belonging to eight or nine different varieties 

 or, to speak correctly, possessing eight or nine 

 different specific names (Arctia phalerata, pallida, 

 phyllina, flammea, decorata, nais, etc.). Of course this 

 merely shows that the makers of these species were 

 wrong in establishing species where mere varieties 

 exist if even varieties may be spoken of in this case 

 but does this not show also that variation may be 

 very important ? 2 The common cray-fish is a well- 



1 Edited by J. W. Tutt, London. March i6th, 1891. 



2 Cf. Hulst: Variation in the Arctias. American Naturalist, 1884, 

 P- J 93- 



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