A FIFTH SEASON AMONG THE SWISS BUTTERFLIES. 69 



else was to be seen. A flying visit to the ColluUa, however, showed 

 that the bushes had all spriinu- up again quite thickly in spite of their 

 complete scorching up during the previous summer. In the afternoon 

 I went on to Sion in the hope of iinding Nomiadefi vidanops or 

 Anthocaris helia, the former in consequence of a letter from Mr. Elwes, 

 and the latter because of Trapp's reported capture, though I cannot 

 help a suspicion that, in the former case, N. ri/llari(s var. blac/iinu', and, 

 in the latter, A. var. ausoju'a were the actual captures. In the former 

 case I should have no doubt, had it not been that Mr. Elwes was 

 himself the captor, and it seems too presumptuous to suggest that so 

 high an authority is mistaken, though on the other hand I believe his 

 captures were made before N. var. blachieri had been described. Soon 

 after arriving at Sion the sun went in, and I took nothing of any 

 importance. After spending the night at the Hotel Terminus (which, 

 though rather primitive, I strongly recommend for its admirable 

 cooking and glimpse of real Swiss life), I went down to the Rhone 

 meadows again and searched for some distance, but only found 

 Melitaea auniia in some numbers, the specimens being larger than 

 those from Visp, and a few X. cyllarifs, after which I took train to 

 Saxon and walked across the valley to Saillon in search of X. var. 

 blachieri on the higher ground above. It is a most interesting old place, 

 but, entomologically, the expedition was unsuccessful, a matter of less 

 importance since I afterwards took the variety both at Veytaux and 

 Aigle. It is like X. welanops ! but the much greater amount of l)lue 

 on the underside, and the absence of the baiely visible lunules from 

 the outer margin of the underside hindwing distinguish it. On the 

 23rd I went over to Bouveret in search of the brown J of Flebeius 

 avi/us, almost all those farther up the valley being blue ; P. aetjon was 

 out in great numbers, and, as usual in this locality, of large size, but 

 as yet P. anjus was not. On the following day, an expedition to 

 S. Maurice and Lavey produced only the usual species of that locality, 

 but included among the abundant specimens of Ciipido sehrus and 

 N. cyllariis, one specimen of the wholly brown $ (ab. onderniyii) of 

 the latter. 



On June 1st began a five days' stay at the top of the Rochers de 

 Naye, just then a mass of gentians large and small, anemones of 

 various kinds, yellow auriculas and purple violas ; but amidst this 

 wealth of flowers there were but few insects — a single Paranjc Iiit'ta, 

 a few ( allap/iri/s ruhi including one ab. itinnaeulata, several h'rrbia 

 lappoua, mostly ab. pollK.c, and none with the stria^ w'ell-marked, 

 and magnificent specimens of Pieris ab. hrijoniae of the form known as 

 flaresccns, being the entire bag. On the 7th, the day after my return, 

 CoenonynipJia arcania was out at Veytaux, and was fairly common, for 

 the first time since 1897. On the 14th we went for the summei' to 

 Aigle, but before taking leave of Veytaux I have still two things to 

 note, first, that the early brood of Lr/ititlia sina/yis almost universally 

 tended this year towards the form which Staudinger now teaches us to 

 call ab. siibyrisra, and, secondly, that, at the beginning of May, 1 took 

 a specimen of ('lin/sapt/ianns dtnilis^ , having small purple spots on the 

 uppersideof the hindwings, inside the orange spots, exactly corresponding 

 with C. phlacas ab. raenilenpinictata : in this particular specimen the 

 underside is brightly coloured and the disc of the upperside forewing 

 is just perceptibly tinted with copper, but on these points I lay no 



