76 



Some remarks on the genus Argynnis, with particular 

 reference to a certain phase of aberration observed 

 in some species of the genus. 



By R. South, F.E.S. Read Feb. iT,lh, 1896. 



The genus Argytinis is represented throughout the Holarctic 

 realm (a zoo-geographical division of the globe embracing the 

 Palsearctic and Nearctic Regions of Wallace), and a few species are 

 found at high elevations in tropical countries. 



Although it is not the purpose of the present paper to deal at 

 length with the g. neric subdivision of the species so generally 

 included in Argynnis, it may be well to mention that it is only 

 within comparatively recent years that Hiibner's divisions of this 

 group have been adopted. Moore, in his " Lepidoptera of Ceylon," 

 resuscitated Acidalia for A. niphe, thus displacing the well-known 

 Geometrid genus of that name, for which he substituted Idcca. 

 Scudder (" Butterflies of New England ") revives Brenthis for the 

 smaller species of Argymiis, and sets up Speyeria for the reception 

 of the American A. idalia. 



The exact number of known species belonging to the genus has 

 not yet been clearly determined, and this in a great measure is due 

 to the fact that authors are not agreed as to the true status of many 

 of the insects, especially of those found in America. However, 

 there are probably somewhere about seventy or eighty distinct 

 species, distributed as follows: Asia, 26; Europe, 22; Central 

 Africa, i {A. hannitigto?ii, Elwes). The remaining species are 

 American, including three from Chili {A. cythei'is, Drury ; A. 

 lathonioides, Blanch ; and A. Jiiodesfa, Blanch). 



A consideration of the geographical distribution of the species 

 found in Europe affords some points of interest to the student. 

 The range of no less than twenty-one of these extends into Asia ,: 

 there is, therefore, only one species which can be said to be peculiar 

 to Europe. This insect is A. elisa, Godart, which is restricted to 

 the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. Two of the species inhabit 

 Arctic regions exclusively ; these are A. charidea and A. polaris, 

 the last-named being met with in the high latitude of 81° 52' N. 

 A. aphirape and A. euphrosyne have each a well-defined boreal 

 form. A. thore is an alpine species, but it is also represented in 

 Lapland, the Altai, and Amurland by var. borealis ; whilst a form of 

 A. euphrosyne, sometimes met with in the Alps, is hardly separable 

 from the Arctic form of that species known as var. fingal. In its 

 typical form A. pales is an Alpine species, occurring at high altitudes 



