98 THE entomologist's becord. 



'Twas in the Cogne Valley I first saw this lovely insect, in its 

 native haunts. In a wild gorge, thickly covered with deciduous trees, 

 about halfway down the valley, between Cogne and Aosta, there was a 

 flash of scarlet, appearing and disappearing rapidly, and then a sudden 

 rush to the ground. " Can't you see it? " said my companion. I peered 

 carefully at the spot where I thought it must be, but failed entirely to 

 detect it, nor could I see it till Dr. Chapman pointed it out to me, 

 seated on a flower about six inches above, but otherwise in a direct 

 line with the point at which I had been peering so intently. Another 

 and another lazily got up as we walked on, their scarlet hind-wings con- 

 spicuous, but as they neared the ground they became suddenly invisible, 

 as they covered their bright hind-wings with their creamy-striped 

 dark green fore-wings. The sudden change from scarlet to what 

 appears on the wing as black, puzzles one until one gets used to the 

 habit, and then it must be confessed C. hera is not difficult to follow. 



The following day, being at Aosta, we took a morning stroll and found 

 ourselves on a vine-covered slope. Following a rough footpath, we 

 found that it opened out into a dry watercourse with steep sides, 

 covered with grass and thyme, whilst along its lower edges starved 

 plants of the Alpine thistle could hardly support their yellow-green 

 capitula. A row of shady walnut trees ran along one side of the 

 miniature valley, but we had scarcely stepped off the rocks and got 

 among the herbage, before one, then another, and yet another scarlet- 

 coated C. hera flew from the thistle flowers, circled for a few moments 

 in the air, and then settled comfortably on another thistle-head to 

 continue their feast. Two, three and four of the insects were on 

 almost every flower, hanging motionless, and almost invisible until 

 disturbed. Their iridescent green wings and creamy lines are wonder- 

 fully suited for their protection, and one cannot but think that Lord 

 Walsingham's suggestion as to the value of the brightly-tinted blue and 

 red colours to the two species of grasshoppers which are so abundant 

 in the Alps, as warning colours when the insects are disturbed and as 

 being of such a great contrast to the darker tints of the fore-wings 

 Avhen the wings are closed, finds an exact parallel in this interesting 

 moth. Here, at any rate, C. hera showed us its true self ; here we 

 could study its true habits ; here we could learn Avhat its habits in 

 Britain probably would be when the hot sun tempts it from the hedges, 

 which usually have to be beaten to disturb it. 



We found a considerable number of specimens in all sorts of con- 

 dition — good, bad and indifterent ; but, and this is a most important 

 but, we observed no variation. Perhaps a trifle smaller, on the whole, 

 than captured British specimens, the Aosta insects were, nevertheless, 

 distinctly a stronger and more sturdy race, wonderfully richly tinted, 

 but without the slightest tendency to yellow. Deep, rich scarlet was 

 the colour of the hind-wings of every specimen examined in this 

 charming spot. On the same ground J'ieris dajdidice Avas abundant ; 

 whilst, sharing the thistle -nectar with the Tigers, were vast numbers of 

 Footmen {IJthosia unita, I beheve), and the little crimson and gold 

 Wwdaria samjuinalU skipped about in company with Lycaena hellaryus 

 and its lovely, almost tailed ally, L. melca(jer, whilst Hipparchia statiliiim 

 haunted the rocks in the steep bed of the dried-up stream. 



The females captured were most ready to lay their eggs, and two or 

 three boxes in which they were placed were afterwards found to contain 



