284 THE entomologist's record. 



say that when I retraced my steps to Sierre, on the 25th, the morning was 

 agam unfortunately overcast, and I only boxed one nice female Pleheins 

 var. aegidion, and a couple of broken <S'. dryas, soon libei'ated. Later, 

 by the lakeside, I chanced upon S. hermione, K. ligea, and Colias hyale, 

 while P. bellargus and Pararge var. egerides, just out, came as a 

 reminder that the collecting season of 1898 was on the wane, and that, 

 so far as Switzerland was concerned, it was time to pack up the store- 

 boxes and bid farewell to the happy hunting grounds. " Days dawn 

 on us which make amends for many sometimes," says one of our modern 

 poets. Among them I shall always reckon the August of the present 

 year. Finally, let me cordially recommend Zinal to the attention of 

 lejndopterists. I only pursue the day-fliers, but I know the night is 

 full of Heterocera, as the lamps upon our balcony testified, and an 

 earlier visit in July would even more abundantly repay the collector. 

 The place is not difficult of access ; you can post all your baggage from 

 Sierre (itself an admirable locality from all accounts, though I have 

 never worked it) ; and the hotels are cheap and good, especially the 

 Hotel des Diablons, which is in connection with the Hotel d' Anniviers, 

 the half-way house at Vissoye. 



Protective Coloration of Lepidopterous Pupae. 



At the meeting of the Entomological Society of London, held on 

 October 5th, 1898, Mr. Merrifield read a paper on the colouring of 

 the pupfie of Papilio machaon and Pieris napi, caused by the sur- 

 roundings on the larvjB preparing to pupate. The general opinion was 

 that the pupa of P. machaon was not thus susceptible, but his experi- 

 ments clearly showed that it was 30. An experiment tried on a small 

 scale upon the first summer brood of larva? was strong evidence of 

 this, but experiments on a much larger scale, upon the later autumn 

 brood, placed the matter beyond doubt. As Prof. Poulton had done, 

 he had found orange and yellow much the most effective artificial 

 colours in producing the yellow-green pupre, but green carrot-tops 

 seemed equally eftective. Black Avas very much more effective than 

 darkness ; of 16 pupfe attached to black paper or dark-coloured twigs, 15 

 were of the bone- coloured form, with much suft'usion of blackish - 

 brown, those in a strong light mostly very dark. Those that pupated 

 on substances of less pronounced colours showed less definite results. 

 Seventy-two pupre of P. machaon were exhibited, all that had been 

 obtained. The case in which these were exhibited, contained also 152 

 pupa3 of P. ncqn, showing similar results in a marked degree ; and an 

 interesting exhibit was of the glass roof of a breeding cage in two 

 compartments, one having had its interior fitted up with black, the 

 other with orange and yellow; 80 larvre of P. napi having pupated 

 on this roof, 46 of them on the orange-yellow side, 42 of which were 

 green, a few showing a little dark spotting, while four were 

 yellowish bone-colour, mainly unspotted ; 84 had pupated on the black 

 side, and all these wore bone-coloured, nearly all with much dark 

 spotting. All the P. napi obtained were exhibited, except in some 

 classes which were so numerous that only samples could be shown in 

 the case, but the rest of them were in glass-bottomed boxes, which ac- 

 companied the others; altogether, between 300 and 400 pupre of this 

 species were shown. In the first case there were also 28 pup;e of Pieris 



