76 THE entomologist's record. 



throughout the fortnight in the valley, most of them apparently being 

 females. The next day, May 22nd, we went to liouveret and worked 

 up the rocky slopes above the lake between that place and St. Gingolph. 

 Another sunless day produced nothing new. The Aveather, however, 

 seemed to be growing warmer, and the next day we were more success- 

 ful. We walked to Bex across the meadows under threatening skies 

 which shed depressing showers on us till 3 o'clock, when a high wind 

 cleared the clouds away, and we had a busy hour or two in a little 

 meadow not far from Grion. A single FJrynnis alceae fell to the net. 

 Puicellia sao was quite common, as also was Nenienbiiis liicina. So 

 large and bright were the females of the latter, that several times I 

 mistook them for Brenthis eiij)hros!/ne as they flew along the sides of 

 the bushes. Colias lu/ale was abundant and so was Mditaea parthenie, 

 evidently fresh from the chrysalis. A few Pararge meijaera were the 

 only other new butterfly observed. 



Early next morning (May 24th) a telephone message from Mr. 

 Wheeler took us to St. Triphon to meet him. The day was cloudy, 

 but warmer, and we found butterflies much more abundant. 

 We spent most of the day on the banks of a little stream close to the 

 railway between St. Triphon and Bex. Cnpido scbrus was quite 

 common and in fine condition, male and female alike. ]\Io»iia(le!< 

 cyllarns was going over, but several good females were taken. Flebeius 

 artfyroffiKDiion occurred sparingly. There was quite a wealth of " blues " 

 on the banks of the rushing cut — (Jiipido luinima, Ci/aniris seiiiiarnus, 

 and I'oli/oiitDiatus alexis being all common, in addition to those already 

 named. (J. sebrus seemed very constant ; I find I have one specimen 

 with the spots on the underside of the secondaries very faintly marked. 

 Two Cijflojiides palaemon were taken on a little tract of marshy ground 

 close to the river; Mr. Wheeler very kindly showed us where Antho- 

 charis siiiiplonia var. fiavidior was to be taken, and, by careful watching 

 of the Biscutella flowers, we managed to secure four or five. Melitaea 

 parthenie was very abundant in meadows behind Mr. Fison's house, 

 and one or two specimens were taken with the dark markings on the 

 primaries forming something like a central band. j\L cinxia occurred 

 frequently, and an odd M. aurinia; Kuvanessa antinpa, and Ewjonia 

 polyMdVos were seen, while, in the meadows by the railway, Erebia 

 mediim was common. 



The next two days (May 25th and 26th) we spent in the Nikolai 

 Thai. Before taking the 11.10 train to Visp we put in an hour in the 

 Lavey Woods, and got four Anthocharis var. jiavidior, a single Pontia 

 daplidicc, and a few Cupldo sebrus. Both days were brilliantly fine, 

 and the journey to Zermatt and back — much of it on foot — was made 

 under the best of conditions. Butterflies were scarce above St. Niklaus. 

 Between Visp and Stalden, and for some way above St. Niklaus, 

 Euvanessa antiopa was common enough, flying along the road and 

 soaring up above the trees on either side. We took several Antho- 

 charis siiiiplonia, all above St. Niklaus, and a single specimen of 

 Pararye hiera. Erebia evias was just out; but otherwise there was 

 nothing to distract our attention from the flowers, which took us 

 back a month or six weeks as we went up, imtil we found beds of 

 Crocus vernalis, Anetnone hepatica, and Ganea liitea in full bloom. 



On Monday, May 27th, we went to Martigny to see if Melitaea 

 deione var. berisalensis was out, but without success. The day was 



