66 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



from Abisko is without silver on the under side, and in this respect 

 resembles the type ; but it has the bright red blotches beneath which 

 characterise var. ossianus, and is thus intermediate between that form 

 and the type. First seen at Abisko, on July 12th. Herr Sprongerts 

 informs me he found it at Narvik on July 20th. 



B. iMles var. lapponica. — This species was noticed at Abisko on 

 July 3rd, but was not common at the date on which I left ; probably 

 it was not then fully out. 



B. freija. — A few worn examples were seen flying over the bog at 

 Mattmar, and on my arrival at Abisko the species was fully out there 

 and in good condition, and it remained so almost until the time of my 

 departure. It was not very abundant, but I usually obtained about 

 half a dozen examples on each sunny day. This species is purely a 

 bog insect ; the males frequented at Abisko the low-lying swamps, 

 probably attracted there by the warmth and shelter from wind. 

 The females were chiefly found higher up the hill-sides. I confined 

 several females on different plants, with a result that I obtained three 

 ova ; these unfortunately vanished one day out of the pill-box I kept 

 them in, I suspect in consequence of the attentions of an inquisitive 

 chambermaid. They were deposited on the stems of Arctostaphylos 

 uva-ursi, which I give as a possible food-plant. Almost certainly the 

 food-plant is not Viola, the only species of which I saw at Abisko 

 being Viola hiflora and V. palustris ; the latter is rare, and although 

 the former is locally plentiful in the birch forest, B. freija is not 

 found there, except as a straggler ; practically the only plants growing 

 when I saw most of the females were A. uva-ursi and several species 

 of Vaccinium. I do not think any of the Scandinavian Brenthids 

 are violet-feeders, except possibly B. tJiore var. borealis, for that 

 was the only species I saw flying amongst these plants, or in the 

 neighbourhood of ground on which they occur. The ova is of a dark 

 straw colour when newly deposited; it has a glazed surface, that 

 portion held next the light being iridescent ; it is funnel-shaped, 

 wider at one end than at the other, and the ends are rounded ; the sur- 

 face is ribbed longitudinally, the ova were attached by the narrow ends 

 to the stem of the plant on which they were deposited. The flight 

 of the imago is very irregular, but not fast ; it does not appear to 

 frequent flowers, but one often disturbs it from the ground. It looks 

 very dark on the wing for a Brenthid, The form of this species 

 occurring at Abisko is sometimes described as var. 2:iallida, Elwes. 

 This is an error. Certainly some of the examples are rather light, 

 but amongst my series of about fifty specimens there is nothing 

 approaching the types of the pallida in the British Museum Collec- 

 tion, which were taken in the Altai Mountains by Mr. Elwes. The 

 only striking variation in my series is that one male has the space 

 between the central black transvei'se line, and that nearer the base 

 of the front wings, almost filled in with black ; this is evidently a 

 recurrent form, for I saw other specimens, and might thus be called 

 ab. fasciata n. ab. 



B- frigga. — This handsome species frequents the bog at Mattmar, 

 where I found it not uncommonly; in three days of intermittent sun 

 I netted thirteen fine examples, including three females. It has 

 much the same habits as the preceding species, but has a much 



