THE LEPIDOPTERA 01' TICINO PIORA. 149 



The Lepidoptera of Ticino — Piora. 



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

 I had already sampled the butterflies of the valley at Piotta, and 

 the slopes at Brugnasco, and I wondered what those distant mountain- 

 tops above the pine-forests of the slopes above Brugnasco and Altanca 

 held in the way of lepidoptera, so, when the morning of August 8th 

 broke, sunny, and with only a few cumulus clouds floating high up 

 across the blue, I thought of the distant mountains, and, by 8 a.m., was 

 on the way to Piora. 1 had the day before me, and so I did not hurry, 

 but just collected along the Brugnasco slopes without waiting to make 

 a bag of anything. Farnassius a polio was in great abundance, and 

 so were An)i/iiuis aiilaia and A. niobe, whilst Erebia (joante, and Melitaea 

 atlialia were also very numerous. A number of beautiful Issoria 

 Z(jf//o>i/c/sunnedinthepath\vay with many worn J J re iit/i is a in at Jiiisia, and An 

 occasional B. etiiiJimsi/ne was still to be seen. Melitaea ilidi/ina was just 

 emerging, a few males only being noticed, whilst a single Lijcaena aiion 

 flew rapidly along the slopes, but pulled up suddenly at a small thyme 

 plant in full blossom, I hoped for egg-laying, although it appeared not, for, 

 when I carefully appi-oached it, it was found to be sucking the nectar from 

 the flowers. A'lriades mj-i/don was in great abundance at the puddles on 

 the path, as also was Hesperia alreim, and a few Pleheiiis an/us {anjyro- 

 (jnnmnn) Avere noticed. Some of the Anthrocera piirpitralifi had evidently 

 only just emerged although the greater number were worn, whilst a 

 beautifully fresh Adscita (/eri/an was netted as it buzzed over the bank, 

 and two very fair Coenonyrnpha var. daririniana were also captured. 

 Over the tall rocks Setina aiirita fluttered down, mostly spotted, but 

 two with characteristic extended lines, one with the ground colour 

 flnely suft'used with brown, a really fine ab. siijf'itsa, quite parallel with 

 one of S. irrorella that 1 took at Chamonix, and another captured on 

 the Dover Clift's. What brings about this parallelism in colour 

 variation '? What makes these bright orange species occasionally 

 assume such a characteristic form in such widely different localities ? 

 A J Ilniiiicia jiidaeas ab. suff'nm is very pretty, and one is astonished 

 to see, careering over the slopes, a fine pale 5 C(dias palarno. It 

 -doubled back when about 50 yards in front, flew up the slope and down 

 again in excellent style, but it suddenly turned swiftly towards me as 

 it reached the path, and was in the net in a moment. Onl}' another 

 specimen or two was seen during the day, and not another came within 

 yards of being captured. The <? Aporia crataeiji were still in plenty 

 and occasionally a quite nicely-coloured example was to be seen. But 

 progress was the order of the day, and, though a few Gnophus obfuscata 

 were disturbed as one advanced through the thick bilberrj'-carpeted 

 pine- wood, and Krehia ;inante remained constant wherever the sun 

 shone on the rocks, one reached Altanca without any change in the 

 fauna. Beyond Brugnasco one enters this pine-wood, but leaves it again 

 for the open cultivation around Altanca, only to enter it again when 

 the zigzags begin in reality to climb the mountain beyond the latter 

 village. Here the dark pines swarm steeply up the mountain-side, the 

 open glades, brilliant with the usual subalpine flowers, forming splendid 

 retreats for several butterfly species. Crossing the fields then that 

 furnish employment for the Altanca villagers, one reaches these zigzags 

 that defy almost everything but the human foot. Luggage of every 

 July ISth, 1908. 



