2 THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



A Month in Switzerland and elsewhere. 



By GEOEGE WHEELEE, M.A., F.Z.S., F.E.S. 

 (Continued from vol. xxiii., page 314.) 



(vii.) The Meiexthal. — Some years ago Mr. Fison took in the 

 Meieuthal some $ specimens of BrentJiis selene shot with purple in the 

 same manner as the 5 var. napaea of B. pales, and ever since I saw 

 these I had desired to try my luck in the same direction. The entrance 

 to the Meienthal is just above the village of Wassen, the last station 

 on the St. Gothard Pass before Goschenen, and though it sounds easy 

 enough to get at, I had never hitherto been able to manage it. I found 

 however that by sleeping at Goldau on our w'ay eastwards, it was 

 possible to snatch a passing visit, sending heavy luggage direct to 

 Bergiin, and depositing smaller things at Goldau on the way through, 

 continuing by the same fast train from Biile as far as Goschenen, 

 getting lunch at the buffet, and immediately afterwards taking the 

 slow train back to Wassen. As soon as I emerged from the steep 

 gorge into the valley I found a <? B. selene and further on several 

 others, all very dark and raising expectations of the purple-shot $ s, but 

 I was doomed to disappointment, for not a single ? was forthcoming 

 during the short time I was able to remain in the valley. On the way 

 up Eiebia eiiryale and Parartje viaera were common, especially the 

 former, the numbers of which did not diminish as one penetrated into 

 the valley, where it was joined by E. sUjgne also in some numbers, and 

 by a few E. melanipns. There was nothing remarkable about the 

 latter, nor about E. euri/ale, but E. styifiie was of a very pronounced 

 valesiaca form, the small white pupils of the two apical eye-spots being 

 the only conspicuous marking even in the $ . Here again the $ s were 

 more worn than the g s, though most of the latter were not in first 

 class condition. The best part of the valley seemed to begin where 

 the path crosses the torrent, but 1 had not time to penetrate much 

 further. Brent/iis eiipltrosj/ne was common but worn ; unlike 7>. selene 

 it was not as dark as the mountain specimens usually are. CJi njsophan its 

 hippotluie, var. eitr)jhia, was common and fresh, but Lotteia sitbalpina 

 was only represented by a single o '■> there were also a few Coenonipiijiha 

 arcania var. darwiniana, and C. sati/rion : and one of the latest ^ s of 

 Eiichlo'e cardamines, and one of the earliest of Btrnthis aniatlntsia 

 complete the list. 



(viii.) Altmatt. — The illness of my travelling companion altered 

 our plans next day, July 6th, but as Goldau is emphatically not a place 

 to be ill at, I felt that by the evening a push must be made as far as 

 Weesen at any rate ; and meantime, finding that I was of no use where 

 I W'as, rest only being required, I decided to put in an hour and a half at 

 Altmatt below Einsiedeln, as I had never before had any personal 

 experience of the peat-bogs. On arriving at the station I took the 

 first turn upwards across the wolds, and my short expedition convinced 

 me that even in a bad year there was a good deal to repay investigation. 

 Only three species appeared to be really common, and all of them were 

 Coenonymphids — ApJutntopus hyperanttts, Coeytonytiipha typhon and 

 C. pampJiilns. The last named was rather small and dark, the other 

 two much like those of Hinterzarten ; but C. typhnn was on the whole 

 rather more spotted, especially on the underside of the forewing, and 

 A. hyperantiis even smaller, the J underside being of a beautiful light 



