Lepidoptera in haute-savoie^-annecy, chavoike. 227 



common species, ^'anei^sa ia, I'l/raincis canliii, Gonepteiijx r/iamni, 

 Kpine})luie ianira, Pieris rapae, and Mcliinariiia t/alat/iea, the commonest 

 perhaps on the clover-heads, whilst on the lucerne flowers on the 

 rou,c;h banks also Mi'lanan/iaf/alatlwa is everywhere, Poli/oDimatus corjplon 

 very abundant, and some examples very small, Melitaea didywa, both 

 sexes, but quite over, with I'aiiqihila sylvanus and TIdjuicHchs thaamas, 

 here, there and everywhere ; much more abundant, however, than 

 either, is T. actaeon, very active in the hot sun, sitting for a moment 

 on a lucerne head, and flitting oft' rapidly to give battle to another of 

 its kind, but returning again and again to nearly the same place ; the 

 females, however, are found to be in much better condition than the 

 males. Careful watch was kept, but fruitlessly, for paired examples 

 or for ovipositing females, a real disappointment, as information is 

 badly needed as to the method of oviposition of this species. Spilot/n/rus 

 laraterae is occasionally observed, and difficult to follow on the steep 

 slopes, whilst flying suddenly past is an insect one immediately 

 recognises as Liicania arimt, getting worn at this, with our British 

 experience, late date. This species flies rapidly and strongly enough 

 in the hot morning sun, and does not remain long at each rest, so 

 that it sometimes proves difficult to capture, although at other times 

 it is less restless and quite easily taken. The insect is apparently 

 scarce here, and not a single female could I detect ovipositing. Along 

 the edge of the tall bushes covering the upper slopes, Leptidia sinapu 

 flitted restlessly, settling, however, occasionally on the blossoms of 

 what appeared to be a species of Lat/njnts, and more frequently on the 

 flowers of various Cruciferous plants. The conspicuous Kveres 

 ar(/mdeii, with its pale underside, was observed sparingly over a bed of 

 vetches, and one Cnpido sebraa was also taken, both these last-named 

 species being of large size. Looking down into a clover field from the 

 slopes, one observed an Argynnid flying sparingly, and the capture of 

 four examples resulted in two Anp/miis aiUppe, one A. wjlaia, one A. 

 niobe, the three species thus occurring on the same ground. I was 

 a little surprised (although I suppose one ought not to have been) 

 to find A. niube here at so low an elevation. An unexpected flutter- 

 ing on a clover-head revealed a hitherto well-hidden female of 

 Papiliu iiiachaon of large size, several others being taken later, the 

 species being evidently only just out. A sudden flash of scarlet shows 

 that Calliinorpha hera is already on the wing, the few examples seen 

 being in fine condition. Enodia dri/as, males only, were also just 

 appearing among the long grass and the bushes. Four species of 

 Anthroccra — tilipe)idiilai', tranaalpina, carniolica and acliilleae — were 

 abundant and in fine condition on all the flower-heads, and one 

 is at first rather surprised to startle a large female specimen of 

 Hemithca strinata {thyiiiiaria) resting among the herbage on the 

 exposed sunny banks ; only twice have I noticed it before thus, and 

 then quite at the end of July, 1898, when, at Bourg St. Maurice, I 

 disturbed several on the rough exposed rocks where Anthrocera 

 piirpuralis is sometimes so abundant, and a single specimen in 

 August, 1897, at Lanslebourg. Fyrannta pmncealis and P. purpuralin 

 are not uncommon on the slopes, but Herbula cespitalis, a very 

 pale form, is in hundreds among the clover. Strenia datltrata is, 

 however, almost equally abundant in the clover fields, flying freely 

 all the morning and resting on the flowers; Ematurija atoniaria 



