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.
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.