730 Insects, 



The discovery of a new British butterfly is a circumstance of so 

 great rarity, that I feel convinced every entomologist will receive the 

 announcement with feelings of unusual interest. The occurrence of 

 the present insect in some abundance, and in one of the most acces- 

 sible and most visited of our Scottish counties, must however be con- 

 sidered as a striking proof of the superficial manner in which Scotland 

 has hitherto been investigated by the entomologist, and must lead to 

 the conclusion that other species yet unrecorded may exist among its 

 mountain wilds. The striking paucity, as regards species, of the fa- 

 mily Satyridse in Britain, and their abundance upon the continent of 

 Europe, amid scenery very similar to our own, induces the conclusion 

 that Britain has been less perfectly hunted ; and certainly offers great 

 inducement to the collector to devote a portion of his energies to those 

 regions which are still unexplored. 



The insect now under consideration, was taken by Mr. Weaver of 

 Birmingham, in the neighbourhood of Rannoch, in Perthshire, at the 

 end of June and beginning of July of the present year. He met with 

 it in considerable abundance, and of the specimens collected, a great 

 majority are males. It belongs to the family Satyridse, corresponding 

 with the genus Hipparchia, as it stands in Stephens' Catalogue; and 

 to Dalman's genus Erebia, as restricted by Boisduval (Icones Histo- 

 riques de Lep. de TEurope, i. 147), which includes two other British 

 species — blandina and Cassiope. 



On the continent of Europe are found four species of Erebia, so 

 nearly similar in size, colour, markings and localities, that I might 

 perhaps have hesitated to consider them distinct, had not such a con- 

 clusion been forced upon me by the weight of authority in their favor, 

 and by a conviction that the differences are for the most part constant. 

 These are, 1. the Papilio Epiphron of Knoch (Beitrage sur Ins. Stuck, 

 iii. 131, tab. vi. fig. 7), which, according to Godart, is identical with 

 the Papilio Ianthe of Hubner, n. 202. All authors agree in de- 

 scribing this insect as having black ocelli with white pupils ; but 

 Knoch, the original describer, says that it more commonly occurs with 

 simple black spots or points, instead of the white-pupilled ocelli, (sae- 

 pius maculis tantum vel punctis nigris). 2. Papilio Melampus of 

 Fuesslin (Verz. Schweiz. Ins. 31, n. 604, tab. i. fig. 6), which appears 

 identical with P. Alcyone of Borkhausen (Europ. Schmett. i. 96 et 

 244, n. 35 c), and which, neither in the figures nor descriptions, ap- 

 pears to differ from the preceding (Epiphron), except in wanting the 

 white pupil of the ocelli, a peculiarity pointed out by Knoch (as above 



