LEPIDOPTEKA AT ROl'HE NEAK AIGLK. 113 



Lepidoptera at Roche, near Aigle. 



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



My summer holiday m 1903 was altogethei' an unknown quantity, 

 until, on the evening of July 21th, I took a ticket for Lausanne, with 

 no definite intentions, and willing to let Fate determine where I should 

 settle for a few days here and there butterily-hunting during the fol- 

 lowing month. I was in very indifferent health, climbing or long- 

 distance walking was an impossibility, and only a vague wish to 

 again see the lovely snow glaciers around Arolla, to breathe again the 

 delicious air, to crawl about those lovely wild-flower gardens on the 

 way to the Pas des Chevres, served as a guide as to where my ultimate 

 destination was to be. The Visp valley and the Val d'Anniviers were 

 quite possible, but before I left Lausanne, where I stayed for a night, 

 I had already determined that I would go up the Yal d'Herens to 

 Arolla. 



The morning of the 27th was promising at Lausanne— large heavy 

 cumuli tore across the sky, a flying remnant of the downpour of the 

 previous afternoon and evening — so I posted my luggage and heavier 

 collecting impedimenta, carried nothing but actual necessities for 

 collecting, and, having settled to rest for a night at Sion, took 

 a ticket to Territet, and then set out on a jaunt to Aigle. I 

 knew nothing of this part of the shore of Lake Geneva, and 

 Chillon (Veytaux) and Aigle were to me objects of interest. I 

 did not work the byways for butterflies, and only saw a few Pieria 

 rapae, Cifaniris arfjiidus, Pohjoiiuiiatits icariis and Anthi-orcrd Tilipi'iidu- 

 lan, until I had passed Villeneuve, when Leiirophasia si)iapis and 

 Enodia Jn/pera)it/itis were frequent, the latter, indeed, exceedingly 

 abundant by the ditches at the roadsides, ('olias hy air wds not \xn- 

 common, and delightfully fresh, and Goni'ptcrij.r rlimuni frequently 

 flew across the path. Near the roadway as yet, however, no possible 

 locality for general collecting was observed until, between Roche and 

 Yvonne, some rough, steep, flower-covered broken rocky slopes I'eached 

 to the roadside. Here was a butterfly-corner indeed, almost hopeless 

 from the profusion of insects. Limemtis syhilla was the first species 

 taken, then one or two rather worn Polyr/onia r-albviii were disturbed 

 from the bushes, on which also Zeplnjnis quercus was flitting freely, 

 whilst several Lencopha siasinajns and Isaoria latliunia wei'e also netted, 

 and then I clambered the rocks as a big black butterfly, followed by 

 another, flew across the open space above. I had heard of the fine 

 big eye-pupilled Satyrits inrdula of this district, and I was soon intent 

 on making a large bag, which the steep slippery slope alone prevented. 

 The specimens were mostly in magnificent condition, except that, as 

 usual, little oval pieces were torn clean out of the margins of some of 

 the otherwise finest specimens, or a wicked split made a specially well- 

 spotted example almost worthless. Flying with them was Hip/iarchiu 

 alcyune, but they were here almost txnobtainable, and only two males and 

 a female would come near enough to be captured, fine big specimens, I 

 presume of the form that makes the local collectors think that this 

 and H. Jirmiione are one and the same species, two insects, in my 

 opinion, as distinct as can possibly be. Another favourite, Meldaea 

 (I'ulyma, flew freely, but at the end of an hour I had totalled up no 

 more than 18 H. conhda and H M . clidytiia up to standard, and I also 



April 15th, 1904. 



