BUTTERFLIES OF THE RHONE VALLEY. 237 



Early Summer amongst the Butterflies of the Khoue Valley. 



By JOHN ALDEKSON. 

 (Continued from p. 210.) 



June 5th was a most unfavourable day. Not once did the sun 

 fully succeed in forcing its rays through the densely packed clouds 

 that held possession of the sky, whilst cold drizzling showers fell at 

 intervals. Alter lunch i made my way to the opposite bank of tlie 

 Rhone in the direction of Lavey. Here, three days previously, odd 

 examples of Knodia Injperanthm had been noted, but now the species 

 was fully out, rising in numbers at every step one took. Naturally, 

 the insect was in prime condition, and a very short time sufficed to ob- 

 tain a good series. None of the more striking aberrations was observed, 

 although there was a good deal of minor variation, consisting chiefly 

 of the obsolescence of some of the usual spots on the underside of the 

 wings. The capture of a newdy-emerged Melananjia yalathea added 

 another species to my list, but apart from these species very little else 

 was on the wing. 



For some days I had been awaiting a favourable opportunity to go 

 up to Caux, in order to see if 1 could hnd Luweia [C/irysophanus) ainphida- 

 viaa in its special haunt there ; but as the days passed without bringing 

 any improvement in the weather, I decided to wait no longer, and I 

 made up my mind to go the following day and take my chance. The 

 outlook was most unpromising when I left St. Maurice the next 

 morning by an early train, and, on reaching Aigle, the rain pattered 

 upon the windows of the train, the carriages of which were filled 

 with a joyous crowd of Swiss singers making their way to 

 Montreux to take part in the great musical festival. The rain 

 had ceased by the time we reached Montreux, so I took the funi- 

 cular railway to Glion, walking thence to Caux. The sun had 

 not yet made an appearance, and the long grass hung heavy with 

 raindrops, while on the slopes below a dense white mist was rolling 

 slowly upwards, completely concealing the Lake of Geneva from view. 

 Scattered specimens of Cujiido ininimna and rolyommatua icanis were 

 found resting on grass stems by the roadside, but not a single insect 

 was seen in flight. On reaching the amphldaiiias ground, 1 searched 

 long and carefully in the hope of flndmg stray specimens of the 

 species at rest, but, beyond stirring up one or two Geometers, my 

 search was quite unsuccessful. Suddenly the sun burst through the 

 clouds, and simultaneously a small butterfly darted amongst some 

 herbage near the dry bed of the torrent. On sweeping the insect off 

 the blossom on which it had alighted, I was very pleased to find 

 I had captured my tirst specimen of Loweia ainphidajiias. By- 

 dint of working hard I managed to get a fair series during the brief 

 intervals of sunshine, but, judging from the condition of the majority 

 of the specimens captured, it was evident that the species had been 

 out fully a fortnight. The sunny glades along the banks of the 

 torrent were its favourite haunts, where it darted in and out amongst 

 the rough herbage with a swift, jerky flight. Brenthis eup/nosi/nc was 

 not uncommon flying rapidly along the bed of the torrent, which was 

 almost dried up, and occasional hybernated specimens of l'oi;/(/uma 

 c-album and Fyrauieis atalanta were also noted. In the adjoining 

 meadows l\nhia mcihisa was on the wing, but it was verj- much worn. 



