le_ than in the female, the
sex figured in the plate.

The under surface is of a soft russet ground, adorned with a wreath of the
_ringlet_-spots from which the insect takes its common name. These are
_black eye-spots_, white-centred and set in a clear ring of pale tawny
colour. The most usual form and proportions of these spots are shown in the
figure (with closed wings), but there are many varieties met with, the
following being the most remarkable that have come under my notice.

One, and not a very uncommon one, has _no light rings_ round the black
spots on the under side.

Another has the rings reduced to a range of mere light specks, the _black
eye-spots being entirely absent_.

Then again, another has the black _pupils_ exceedingly large and rich,
forming a most elegant variety.

The spots on the _upper_ side in the _male_ are sometimes quite
imperceptible.

The ground colour of the _upper_ side is occasionally of a pale drab or
fawn colour.

The _caterpillar_ of this species is very like that of the last in
colouring, and feeds on the same grasses.

The _butterfly_, which is out in June and July, is a common and widely
distributed species, frequenting woods, shady corners of hedge-rows, &c.

* * * * *

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THE SCOTCH ARGUS BUTTERFLY. (_Erebia Blandina._)

(Plate VI. fig. 4, Female.)

The genus _Erebia_, to which this species belongs, is composed of a group
of mountain butterflies, very numerous in the Alpine regions of the
Continent, seventeen species being described as inhabiting the Alps; and,
though only two have yet been discovered in this country (unless we admit
_Ligea_, formerly taken in the Isle of Arran[10]), it is not at all
improbable that others may be waiting for us in some of the mountain
districts, if we will but look them up. Both tourists and, more especially,
residents in those localities should be encouraged by the hope of adding a
new species to our list to explore thoroughly the hill-sides and summits at
various seasons of the year, as many of the species, besides being
extremely local in their range, are only on the wing during a very short
period of the year.

The Scotch Argus is a pretty, though not brightly-coloured butterfly.

The colour above is a deep rich brown, with a coppery or orange-red band on
each wing, and each band has several (three or four usually) black
eye-spots thereon.

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On the under side, the front wings ar