208 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



find a beautiful female Malacosoma franconica var. alpicola, which 

 allowed herself to be boxed without even disturbing her slumber, 

 Argynnh mnatlnisia was fairly frequent everywhere, but was getting- 

 jmsse. Melitaea atlialia was not rare, only three specimens of M. phoebe 

 came across my net. In the valley itself Aporia crataeni in both sexes 

 was common, and one specimen gave me a smart run, for I saw 

 distinctly a bright red spot on each hindwing, it looked remarkable in 

 the brilliant sun, but it proved to be nothing special after all — probably 

 only a spot of the excrementary pupal fluid that had somehow spurted 

 on to the upper surface of the wings. I took several specimens of 

 Loiveia alciphron var. fjordiiis, but all were quite past their best. 

 Plebeius aniyrocinomon was most abundant, M'hilst Arkia astrarc/ie 

 appeared to be rare, for I only took three specimens, all quite fresh. 

 Paran/e niaeia also turned up in good condition, as also did Cneno- 

 ni/nipha arcania var. darwiniana. Cln-ysophauHs hippothije was rare, 

 and only one example of its variety eiirybia put in an appearance. 

 Among the moths, I took a single Crambns zerniattens'is and a single 

 C. conchellnti. Anthrocera lonicerae was probably the commonest 

 Anthrocerid, and typical A. Jilipendidae came next. A. piirpnralis, of 

 course, was not rare, and 1 took a small series of A. trcmsalpina. 

 Adscita statices var. heijdenreirhn was the only one of that genus. 

 Endrosa (Setina) aiirita (typical) and its var. raniom fell victims to 

 my net more than once. Of Boarmiids I saw but few, Gnophos 

 serotinaria, G. nnjrtillata, and G. viendicaria were the only ones I took 

 of that genus. Larentia caesiata was comparatively rare, and at the 

 last another Crambns was taken fairly high up, r/c, a single C. 

 radiellm, and just below this spot several Ortholitha liniitata and one 

 0. bipnnctaria were inveigled into my net. I believe I omitted to say 

 that two or three Lycaena arion without any spots on the upperside 

 were also captuerd. Thus ended my visit to this lovely spot. The next 

 day I went over the Moro Pass to Saas, and a terrible day it was, 

 mist to begin with, rain to continue, whilst snow and hail in driving 

 fury greeted us at the top of the Pass, so that I was glad of the shelter 

 of an overhanging rock until the worst was over. I certainly did not 

 have less than two hours heavy snow walking, frequently soft enough 

 to sink up to one's knees in — but all things come to an end, and this 

 did, for in due time we arrived at Mattmark, and were glad of a sub- 

 stantial meal ere pursuing our way to Saas Fee. 



The Pairing of Aglais urticas. 



By Dr. T. A. CHAPMAN, F.Z.S., F.E.S. 

 Observations on the pairing of this species, and indeed of the 

 Vanessids generally, are all too few, so that the following is probably 

 worth recording. About 2.30 p.m. on May 7th, 1911, Mr. Lionel 

 Adams and I were in a grassy lane where there was a large patch of 

 nettles with stems of the season some G to 15 inches high. Close by 

 we noted a pair of A. Hrticae on the ground, one, believed to be the 

 male, some inch or two behind the other, and both with wings 

 expanded and facing from the sun in the attitude in which the 

 Vanestiidae usually bask. The male gradually approached the female, 

 but on two or three occasions when the male got close the female set- 

 off for a flight of a circuitous and zigzag character with the male in 

 pursuit, and then settled again not far from the place from which she 



