110 
Journal New York Entomological Society. 
[Vol. IV. 
It has become an established fact that those color-bands with charm¬ 
ing ocellated spots that so enhance butterfly kind, should everywhere 
vary, and in certain localities vanish; and many drab and brown wings 
fluttering among grass and shade, and from time to time have exhibited 
hillsman’s spots that have caused a cry of new species, or prompted ex¬ 
perts to enter on description where others see but variety. The large 
Heath Butterfly may be reckoned among these. This kind in the 
north of England at an elevation of two thousand feet, according 
to Mr. T. Marshall, and in some parts of Ireland, according to Mr. 
Birchall, has the eyes painted on its sandy wings greatly decreased in 
number; and on the Perthshire Mountains, conjointly with the English 
type, an aberration is sometimes seen even less ocellated, and this 
anomaly we find has established itself in Lapland as the local form is is 
of the species, the most boreal variation. Our species are said to be 
darker than the same or allied forms in Europe. 
It has frequently been noticed that in the mountains of Europe, as 
well as in this country, that as we ascend the butterfly becomes 
smaller and darker and their sexes often lose the color differentiation. 
Woody coverts and proximity to the sea, as also the smoke of towns 
and manufacturing districts, are associated with variety and melanism. 
The system of variation in such localities is the same and the cause 
is constant, while external conditions of environment are multifarious. 
Thus the shades of New Forest afford a constant variety, valesina of 
Argymus paphia , which instead of being fulvous is brown and spotted 
instead of streaked along the nervures; it will thus be noted that altitude 
produces much the same effect as shade.” Erebia blandina , from 
Morecombe Bay, has the brown bands on the fore-wings replaced by 
yellow. 
The Lepidoptera at Hastings and on the coast of Wales have been 
noticed as being often deviations from the types. On small islands 
butterflies have been considered to have enlarged wings, but it should 
then be noticed these islands lay far south in latitude, a consideration 
that might cause us to hesitate in accepting the premises on Darwin’s 
explanatory theory that the larger wings are acquired from battling with 
the winds. “ Species found in Japan have a much greater expanse 
than the individuals of the same species from Europe. Albinism is 
thought sometimes to be produced from light colored soils. Thus it is 
active on the English Chalk Downs, where it produces varieties in un¬ 
stable genera of moths.” The large Heath Butterfly is a very large 
insect (var. typhon') in Cumberland and Scotland on high hills; whilst 
