THE LEPIDOPTERA OF OBAN AND DISTRICT. 13 



black bands are, however, much broader, there being very httle left of 

 the pearly white bands. Tlie hindwini^'s are much suft'used with 

 crimson. The inner band does not reach the inner margin, but ends 

 abruptly in the wing area. There is a lunular spot developed between 

 the inner band and the base. 



{'To he continued.) 



The Lepldoptera of Oban and District. 



By W. G. SHELDON. 



During the early portion of last July I was staying at this charm- 

 ing centre for tourists. In such portions of the time that were not 

 occupied in excursions I managed to do some collecting, entirely 

 during the daytime. Oban, as most people who have visited Scotland 

 are aware, is situated on the shores of the Firth of Lome ; it is 

 sheltered from the gales of the Atlantic by the Island of Kerrera, 

 which is separated from it by an arm of the sea some half-mile in 

 width. The country for ten or twelve miles inland consists chiefly 

 of moors of several hundred feet elevation, very much broken 

 up into hills and valleys, and except in the deeper valleys, bare, and 

 without trees. The hills, however, immediately liehind the town are 

 planted largely with larch and spruce fir. These moors contain much 

 bog, with a liberal growth of sweet-gale, bog asphodel, butterwort, 

 and other plants typical of such places. Behind the moorland com- 

 mence the mountains, prominent amongst which are the famous twin 

 peaks of Ben Cruachan, some 8,700ft. in height, Avhilst looking to the 

 north and north-west, across Loch Linnhe, the mountains of Morven 

 and ]\Iull, are everywhere seen. The rock formation is chiefly shale, 

 but there is a considerable outcrop of granite in places. 



Rhopalocera were poorly represented, and many species that might 

 have been expected to occur were absent ; a good deal of work was 

 done with Fohiommatm icarm, for aberrations, but except in one small 

 locality in Kerrera, they were a most ordinary lot, and would have 

 well passed for Surrey specimens. In Kerrera, however, I managed 

 to obtain about a dozen of the finest forms I have ever seen ; in the 

 females the blue is exceedingly bright, and two of them have the entire 

 upper sides, except the red markings, of the most brilliant blue ; in 

 others the red markings on the upper sides are brighter than in any I 

 have seen from elsewhere; the males approach P. bi-Uan/iis var. adnnia 

 in colour. Coenoni/iniiJut tiplion was unaccountably absent, except for 

 one specimen, one only of Krchia actldopx also occurred, but I was, of 

 course, too early for all but stragglers of this species ; a few Adscita 

 statires were noticed at rest on flowers, probably the species bad been 

 abundant earlier in the year. One of the most interesting species 

 observed during the visit was Anthrorera imrpuralU (urimts), of which 

 my son found a specimen at rest on the day after our arrival. A visit to 

 the spot next morning resulted in our netting a few more, but it was 

 evidently jiassc, only a short series of rather over a dozen could be 

 made up. It will be remembered that Dr. Buchanan White recorded 

 [l\nt(iuinhi(iist, ix., p. 142) that he had this species in his cabinet from 

 near Oban, and also from Forfarshire ; and probably the specimens 

 there alluded to were taken nearly 80 years ago. The locality is a very 



