THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



in the early morning and late afternoon, an intelligent mule-driver, in 

 spite of repeated warnings that my large collecting-hox and setting-case 

 were insecurely packed, managed to let the setting-case fall down a 

 steep and rocky mule-path, smashing it entirely, and then, to mend 

 matters, carefully put the boards loosely into the box Avith the set 

 insects. Practically every specimen taken at Arolla was mangled into 

 dust, and not until the man had disappeared, and we were anxious, 

 at Evolene, to know how the specimens had travelled, did we learn 

 the hopeless ruin that had befallen our labour. To attempt to describe 

 the condition of my mind on that never-to-be-forgotten midnight ride 

 down to Sion (for a hurried and peremptory return was necessary so 

 far as the doctor Avas concerned) were futile. Thoughts of scraps of 

 the wings of burnets, blues, whites, Erebias, Setinas, fritillaries, 

 broken and bent pins, in huddled confusion under the heel of loose 

 setting-boards, created such demoniacal desires in my heart as I have 

 rarely been possessed of, and till this present the mere mention of that 

 night has been taboo with everyone cognisant of it ; some 1200 

 perfect alpine lepidoptera, besides several long series of bred and 

 captured insects that were on the boards when we journeyed up, these 

 went down in one fell moment to endless ruin and perdition. That 

 our other box, containing our captures of the preceding fortnight at 

 Evolene and on the Simplon Pass, was left behind at Evolene, and 

 that its contents had not shared in the general ruin was the only 

 redeeming feature of that in some way unsatisfactory summer holiday 

 of 1899. I may add here how remarkably different was the propor- 

 tion of the various species observed in 1899 compared with 1903. 



In 1899, several species, more or less rare in this late season of 

 1903, were in the greatest profusion. A magnificent form of Arj/ytuiis 

 jiidhr, A. cujlaia, Erebia f/oante, K. eyryale, K. riorge, Melmiipias epi- 

 jiltron, ddlias pJdcoDwne, Anthrocera exulaiiH, Setina aiirita, were in the 

 utmost profusion. In 1908, without being actually rare, none of these 

 species were common, whilst other species, hardly seen in 1899, were 

 in great numbers, particularly Erebia inncstra, CoenonijiDpha satyrion, 

 Neiiieophila jilantat/iiiis, Miinacficoptilwi ruprodactylits, &c., the first 

 named being particularly abundant, and occurring almost everywhere. 

 It was remarkable that I picked up on this last visit several species that 

 I did not see on the first, e.g., (Eneis a'ello, Parnassim delim, Folyoiii- 

 iiiatm plieretea, Colias palaano, &c. For actual number of specimens, 

 however, there is no doubt 1903 was much inferior to 1899. 



I suspect the best collecting-ground is the edge of the pinewood in 

 which the Kurhaus Hotel is actually situated, a fine morning spent in 

 idling right round the edge of the pines, from the Kurhaus down to the 

 Hotel du Mont Collon and back again, gives many things, in fact, all the 

 species obtainable, except the really high alpine insects — Knhia ijlavialU, 

 E. (/oi'iie, Polyoui Hiatus pherctes, and one or two others — whilst some are to 

 be taken here that occur nowhere beyond, holding the warm sheltered sides 

 of the wood as their last outposts up the valley, extending neither up 

 the slopes towards the Aiguilles Rouges, nor along the bed of the valley 

 towards the Arolla glacier, whilst, on the other hand, the small 

 mountain stream that rushes down here brings many of the highest 

 alpine plants to this level, and so encourages many species to extend 

 downwards at this point, that are only to be found at a much higher 

 elevation on the more exposed slopes around. 



The whole of the somewhat flat ground, rather to the right than 



