JOURNAL OF VARIATION 



Vol. XVII. No. 1. Januaky 15th, 1905. 



Lepidoptera of the Val d'Herens — Arolla {with photographs). 



By J. W. TUTT, F.E.S. 



Arolla ! To how many readers of this magazine does not the name 

 conjure up one of the loveliest vignettes to be found throughout the 

 length and breadth of the Alps ? The long vista up the Arolla 

 glacier, closed by the delightful snow-clad Mont Collon, the glorious 

 snow-peak, the Pigno d'Arolla, and then the unprounceable Zigiorenove 

 glacier, with its huge moraine sweeping away from the foot of the 

 Pas de Chevres. To the left (looking towards the snow-peaks), the 

 sharp Aiguille de la Za, a long and difKcult ascent, and to the right 

 again La Rousette and the Aiguilles Rouges, the slopes from the foot 

 of which to the hotel make a marvellous collecting-ground, whilst 

 now, right behind, at the foot of the Combe d'Arolla are the Dents de 

 Veisivi, on the slopes of which, Mr. Lloyd informs me, (Eneis aello 

 flies in the greatest abundance. The knoll itself, on which the 

 Kurhaus Hotel is situated, is a delightful flower-garden in the midst 

 of the last and, highest big remnant of the forest of Arolla pines, 

 whose delicate fragrance adds such a charm to this delightful valley. 

 And who can describe the flowers ? Acres upon acres of yellow and 

 orange hieracii, and billowy waves of the pale blue alpine forget-me- 

 nots, with occasional masses of white and yellow alone breaking the 

 continuous sheets of beauty they spread everywhere. A few hundred feet 

 above the hotel, edelweiss is in the greatest abundance, and the 

 comfort of the hotel itself marks Arolla, when reached, an ideal 

 resting-place. I say, when reached, advisedly, for the journey to 

 Arolla is not to be undertaken by cripples without considerable fore- 

 thought, for the Kurhaus Hotel is situated as nearly as possible at 

 7000 feet elevation, and there is no means of reaching it except by 

 walking, or on mule-back. Arolla is exposed from early morning till 

 late evening to the sun, a fact that, no doubt, goes far towards 

 producing its wealth of vegetation and its abundant insect life. It is, 

 indeed, a place of beauty, an ideal spot for a nature-lover, be he 

 botanist or zoologist. 



I have paid two visits to Arolla, the first consisted of four or five 

 splendid days in the third week of August, IHDO, whilst the second was 

 a longer stay, from July 29th to August 11th, 1903. The lirst ended 

 in a perfect holocaust. Following on four or five days' hard work, in 

 which Dr. Chapman and I had amassed a splendid lot of specimens 

 by day, and in setting which every spare moment had been utilised 

 January 15th, 1905. 



