166 THE entomologist's record. 



Valley, though without rain. Our best work was done in a grass 

 meadow between Sierre and Miege. I call it grass, but in reality it 

 was a flower-garden past the wit of gardener to devise. The ground 

 growth seemed to consist of myosotis and a golden Enp/mrbia, 

 AnthylUs and Galium vernw, from which rose a tall crop of scabious, 

 trollius, aconite-leaved ranunculus, Geranium san<jiiineam, and some 

 attractive umbellifers, which I will not risk labelling, and lastly a 

 lovely blue Salvia. The best spot was a little bank facing south, where 

 the ground had been terraced to shore up the vineyard above. I could 

 reach the whole of this slope from the footpath, and yet respect the 

 " defense hors du sentier." The conditions for collecting were admir- 

 able, no swarm of anj- one kind, but abundance of species, and 

 specimens generally in perfect condition. Melitaea cin.ria was the 

 commonest butterfly, and after the first half hour I left them alone. 

 M. didijma was just coming out, and i was much struck by its brilliant 

 colour in the sunlight. iV. athalia and M. partlienie were scarce, and 

 M. phoebe was represented by three specimens, one very light coloured. 

 M. dictynna was just beginning, Brenthis dia was very much worn, and 

 Issoria lathonia very small and almost in rags. I noticed its 

 frequent habit of settling in the middle of a dry cart-track. Brenthis 

 euphrosijne had larger spots than those of the New Forest. Colias 

 hyale was hardly ever out of sight. Papilio machaon was not common, 

 while Ipkiclides podalirius was very much in evidence, mostly minus 

 the tails. I observed two curious features about this flower-meadow. 

 All our commonest species were there, but very scarce. I saw single 

 specimens of all our Vanessids, except Vanessa io, which was in fair 

 numbers, and our common whites, Coenonympha pamphilns, Colias 

 ednsa, Callop/irys riibi, Rumicia phlaeas, Nisoniades tayes, and Polyom- 

 matiis icariis [alexis), were only here and there. Melitaeids, with 

 Colias hyale, Aporia erataeyi, and l]/hiclides podalirius, were the 

 species that enlivened the scene. The other noticeable feature was 

 that butterflies known to us as possessing particular habits and tastes 

 seemed to abandon their peculiarities and meet on the common ground 

 of a flower garden. Thus Leptosia sinapis, Ayriades thetis, Papilio 

 machaon, and Ciipido minimus forsook their woods, chalk downs, and 

 marshes, and might be seen on the same scabious and sage blossoms. 

 Of the blues, Cyaniris semiaryus was on the wing on footpath, and high 

 road. Glaucopsychecyllaruswsis scarce, Ayriades thetis abundant and large, 

 and among the last I found one Pnlyommatus hylas on my return. A 

 single Kveres alcetas very nearly passed itself oft" as a small Polyonrmatus 

 tear us. We were unable to explore the Pfynwald thoroughly, as the 

 heat and dust of the road from Glarey were almost unendurable, but the 

 open spaces and rocky slopes a little past the Rhone bridge were full of 

 Colias hyale, Melitaea cin.ria, and M. didyma, and a single Hesperia 

 carthami was taken. Among the C. hyale were two whitish specimens, 

 and I also took a strange aberration of M. didyma, in which the rich 

 red of the upper wings gives place to a pale straw-yellow. May 27th 

 found us at Les Marecotles, an admirable base for collecting, 

 about one mile above Salvan, on the Martigny-Chatelard line, where 

 we found comfortable quarters at the Chatel Belmont, kept by English 

 proprietors, Mr. and Mrs. Macey. Our elevation was now 3400 feet, 

 the weather had cooled, and we feared we had done wrong to leave the 

 Rhone Valley, but the news that two swallow tails and a white had 



