326 THE entomolooist's recobd. 



all the cobwebs as to whether the valley really contained any insects, 

 and I look back on it as one of the most enjoyable days of my life. 

 Not that I brought home many insects, possibly a couple of hundred 

 for the day's work were all I pinned, but the enjoyment was intense ; 

 the perfect weather, the glorious outlook, the final view of the whole 

 length of the snowy summits arising from the huge Mont Blanc range 

 and the gleaming glaciers that lie in its scarred and seamy sides, all 

 added their quota, whilst the return of health and strength and 

 unusual vigour added zest to the long upward journey. Almost before 

 Chamonix was left, Parnaiisius apollo, of large form, was seen flying 

 among the rockstrewn boulders covering the huge scarred seam that 

 leads direct from Chamonix to the summit of the Prevent, and yet 

 elsewheie in the valley P. apollo had appeared to be a rare or absent 

 insect. Drifos paphia, too, was abundant and in good condition, and 

 there were also some ab. valcsina ; Anij/unis ailippe was still more com- 

 mon, bat was soon replaced, as one ascended, by an abundance oiAriii/mtis 

 atjlaia and A. niohe. There was no trouble to select a few fine silvery- 

 spotted undersides of the latter from among the females, nor could one 

 but be struck with the large size of the (Jolias ednso that occasionally 

 flitted by. Certain steep flower-strewn gullies climb straight up the 

 steep sides of the Brevent through the pine-woods, no doabt occupied 

 with roai'ing torrents in winter, but now quite pictures of floral beauty. 

 There was here an accumulation of fritillaries and a feAv Lcptidia 

 sinapis were observed, the species, not having been seen elsewhere 

 in the valley, must be rare here, or the second brood not fully out. 

 Taking one of these gullies and crawling rather than climbing up it, 

 we find an abundance of Erebia inclanipKs, ('hri/>iup/ianiis rirfjanreae, 

 Antlinicera piirpuralis, A. transalpina, and A./ilijioidtilae, large numbers 

 of I'amphlla comma, and many other species among which Kuholia hi- 

 punctata was conspicuous. C/tri/sophaniis var. citri/bia was going over, 

 and so also was C. var. (jordius, but Sijiichthun alvem was in first class 

 condition, and abundant ; Setiyia aurita was in good order, but was not 

 at all common. Blues were scarce, Puli/nmmatus corydon, P. icarns, and 

 Nomiades aemiartpis being the only species in more than single speci- 

 mens. It was interesting to find Krchia luiea at the bottom of the 

 slopes replaced by E. eioyale before much of the ascent had been com- 

 pleted, whilst a single Melitaea pJiochc was observed, and Melitaea athalia 

 was neither uncommon nor in really bad condition. I quite appreci- 

 ated Mr. Lowe's views concerning JSl. athalia [antca). Like him I 

 can, of course, pick out certain definite forms of th« instct, and say that 

 this is more or less typical athalia, that more or less typical parthenie, 

 and the other, I was going to add, more or less aiirelia, but I am not 

 at all cocksure that I can even do the latter, whilst, of course, the 

 mountain raria has, in the mass, a facies peculiarly its own. I 

 have a really fine series of this insect — athalia — parthenie — aurelia — 

 varia — probably between 300-400, captured by myself and Dr. 

 Chapman, here, there, and everywhere in the Carinthian, Tyrolean, 

 Swiss, Italian, and French alps, in central France and Savoie, in 

 Piedmont, in Spain, and Scandinavia, with German types from the 

 dealers, and I confess I am at present beaten. Perhaps light will 

 come some day. Riihl wrote an article on these insects some five or 

 six years ago in tiocietas Entomohxjica. I wonder if any British 

 lepidopterist who reads German would translate and summarise it and 



