74 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [March, 



and various shrubs. Several rapid creeks, fed by the melting 

 snows, tossed and tumbled noisily over their rocky beds, their 

 banks being bright with wild flowers and grasses; occasionally 

 the canon would expand into wide boggy meadows (called 

 " Broads," by the ranchmen, as the contracted spaces, hardly 

 wide enough for a wagon-road, were also locally termed " Nar- 

 rows"); a few hundred head of cattle roamed around, but were 

 not in sufficient numbers to destroy the herbage, as is too often 

 the case in the western mountains. Butterflies were abundant 

 everywhere, and whether I rambled lower down the valley or 

 climbed above timber to die higher levels I seldom returned 

 without being well pleased with my captures, if the weather was 

 fine, as the mornings always were; a few day-flying moths would 

 occasionally present themselves Platarctia hyperborea one clay 

 clumsily tumbled round a low willow close to the house and was 

 quickly transferred to my cyanide bottle, a few examples of 

 Arctia cervinata Strecker and Antarctia brucei Hy. Edw. occurred 

 among the rocks; in the open spaces in the forests a small He- 

 maris was not uncommon at the blue flowers of Mertensia, on 

 which plant the gray larvae of Gnophesla vermiculata was feeding, 

 Nemeophila plantaginis and Alypia lorquinii were frequent, the 

 latter to be always found where Epilobium grew. In August the 

 larvae were very abundant on this plant ; very rarely, indeed, 

 Lepisesia flavofasciata was seen at blossom of Ribcs; this larvae 

 I also found in July on Epilobium. Above timber, at the very 

 edge of the melting snow-banks, the flowers were alive with four 

 or five species of Plusia and a few Oncocnemis and Melicleptrias, 

 the last apparently sleeping in the blossoms by night, as I fre- 

 quently found them in a half torpid state in the early mornings 

 inside the petals. On the mountain sides and highest peaks a 

 few species of Anarta and Agrotiphila were lively in the sunshine, 

 and occasionally a Geometrid would start from the rocks or be 

 dislodged from the bushes, but as a rule the Heterocera were 

 sparingly represented, not more than two or three dozen species 

 being found in three Summers. I tried sugaring without the 

 slightest success. On two or three occasions I saw a moth buz- 

 zing round the lamps in the house, but it was always subgoUiica 

 or auxiliaris. As the motto and practice of every person at the 

 ranch was " early to bed and early to rise," and I was generally 

 well tired out when I got home, and after supper I had my cap- 



