200 the entomologist's record. 



Lepidoptera of the Basses-Alpes — Lac d'Allos. 



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



The lovely Lac d'Allos is at an elevation of between 7000ft. and 

 8000ft., yet far above this, for quite 2000ft., the alpine pastures roll 

 free, with lovely stretches of wild flowers and capped by rocks of 

 surpassing grandeur. 



I had made up my mind for a day here, and having prospected, as 

 already noted, on the 10th, I collected all the way up the valley, and 

 arrived at the lake about 5 p.m. on the afternoon of August 13th, having 

 been promised a comfortable shake-down by the hostess of the shanty 

 here at my previous visit. I found out, however, all through this trip, 

 that what was. proposed did not always come off. A large party of 

 tourists from Marseilles were in possession, including three ladies, the 

 best quarters in the little alpine hut were already commandeered, 

 and, after having supper with a company whose lively habits would 

 have helped to make the fortune of a professional paragrapher, I had 

 to turn in the straw with a dozen others, in the long, roomy, and not 

 altogether uncomfortable, quarters of the hut. I turned out early 

 next morning, and, after a wash in the lake, went off for a stroll on 

 the slopes before partaking of a substantial breakfast, of which trout 

 from the lake, and fresh milk were two very pleasing features. 



Nothing was on the move till 9 a.m., for the night had been cold, 

 and a specimen or two of Brmthis pales picked up were quite numbed 

 and unable to fly, but as the sun got more power, the flowery slopes 

 were alive with insects. Not that the number of species here was a 

 large one, on the contrary the number was small, but the species 

 present were mostly in great abundance. First and foremost was 

 Chrysophanus hippothoe, by the lake side, the males brilliant and 

 sparkling in their freshness, the copper bright, the black edging deep, 

 but with no trace of purple tint, and with none of the black shading 

 that leaves, on the hindwings of the upperside, an apparent band of 

 copper colour, representing that of the females, and which we 

 strangely find in the examples at the extreme north and south of its 

 European range, viz., in Scandinavia (Bossekop) and Spain (Moncayo). 

 The females were of two forms, one almost uniformly fuscous-brown, 

 the other with the centre of the forewings coppery. A lovely black female 

 of Loireia subalpina, Speyer, supposed by many to be an alpine form 

 of L. dorilis, was also taken, but, although search was made, not another 

 example was discovered. Down by the lake side also, as well as on the 

 slopes far above, almost every flower was occupied by a Brmthis pales, 

 there must have been many thousands, even in a comparatively limited 

 space. The females are brown, but particularly pale, especially towards 

 the centre of the inner margin of the forewings, only one dark one of 

 the napaea type was observed, and, although many were worn, others 

 were in prime condition. Next to Brenthis pales, Colias phicomone 

 was the commonest species. Many specimens were getting thinly- 

 scaled and worn, but others were in the pink of condition, the males 

 showing considerable variation, some with yellow forewings and only 

 the nervures and marginal band dusky, others with the forewings 

 entirely clouded except for a patch on the inner margin ; the females 

 were more uniform, with delicate pink fringes and heads, almost 

 exactly of the same form as the specimens from Larche, on the 



