^^^ THE entomologist's RECORD. 



numbers, leads me to make an addition to those already published. In 



aLu L ZT""^ -^^^^ ^°*'^' ^^^^^^ ^^Iki^^g fromHauderesto 

 Aiolla, 1 iound the species in some numbers, freshly emerged, on the 

 slopes a the vi lage of Satarme. They were then clinging to almos? 

 every bloom of the alpine Centaurea that grows here? the males in 

 overwhelming excess, the few females being in almost ^very instance 

 paired, sometimes four or five males being present on the same Hower 

 on which a paired couple were already resting. From here the species 

 occurredm small numbers, mostly 3 s, in all the flower-clad openings in 

 the pmewoods m the upper road to the Kurhaus, whilst they appeared 



above TOOOtt. (where A e.culam, also, was abundant) about a week 

 later On tbe journey down from Arolla to Evolene on the afternoon 

 of August 12th, at about 3.30 p.m., I found the species again in 



blossoms, not by any means quiescent though, although there 

 was no sun but busily and greedily sucking the nectar from 

 the flowers of the capitula on which they were restino- The ^ s 

 seemed now to be scarcely more numerous than the ? s, and the 

 condition of both sexes, in most cases, left much to b^ desired! 



InVt'l' -^ fT^' ^''''T'' *° ^^^' ''^' ^^^t e^-ery ? , whether in 

 good bad, or mdifterent condition, was paired, and, in some instances, 

 the ?s were exceedingly worn, and contained scarcely any ec^gs. I 

 have no doubt that here, at any rate, the habit of this species was to 

 pair m the afternoon and, as I found no $ uncoupled, possibly to pair 

 every afternoon. It is quite clear from the poor condition of the 

 specimens that most of the examples of both sexes observed this after- 

 noon had paired previously. At Chamonix, on August 15th, rain fell 

 all day, bu the morning of the 16th broke almost cloudless, Jold, how- 

 ever, and the snow was lying on all the mountains down to 5000ft 

 A star was made^about 9 a.m. to walk up the Brevent (see antea, xiv., 

 p. 320), but the herbage was wet, the temperature low and scarcely 

 an insect was on the move ; by 10.80 a.m. clouds had b;gun to gather 

 and by 11 am most of the aiguilles were covered. By"l0.30 a m I 

 was about half-way up to Plan Praz, and here I came across 'a 

 purpnrahs^g^m, in very good condition, chnging in numbers to the 

 scabious flowers, busily feeding, in most cases smgly ; only two pairs 



rnTloThrV'""'''-^?'/"'^'*^ instances, the Js^^ere quite fS 

 and loth to fly as might be expected both from the cloudy state of the 

 weather and the low temperature. After noon it becanfe duller and 

 colder and the weather precluded all attempts to entomologtse 

 On the way down about 3 p.m., there were still many A. pnrpLlis 

 on the flowers, but now seated underneath the capitula for shelter 

 Ike the bees, and perfectly motionless. It appeared to me remark- 

 able that, on a day when scarcely anything lepidopterous appeared 

 when single examples of Erehia <joante, k 'fjje, A.lais^l^ 

 A^gijmm achppe, A a^ata Melitaea athalia, and two or 'three each o 

 fW V 1?" ■'" ^""^ ^.- '"'/r^'"' ^^^ade up the total catch on a slope 

 that I knew swarmed with insect life, this species should be alert 



onfv aboui 2mff ''"Sn ^. T^^'^T'^ °f ^ ^"nter temperature a 

 ^hl^.U \^ ""r ^^°^*- ^'^°'' ''^'''^ ^^^°^ "^^^ h^^S thickly from 



the fall of the preceding evening. I may add that the species occuS 



