THE RHONE VALLEY AND ITALIAN LAKES IN SPRING. 113 



forms I have taken in the Rhone Valley and at Vernet, with nearly 

 unicolorous ground colour, and the black markings not so well defined. 

 They are identical with some I took near Lugano in August, 1905. 

 I caught them nearly all at flowers of Trifolitoii pratense. The S. orion 

 were small and with not much blue on the wing bases ; they looked 

 very black on the wing and did not seem to visit flowers. 



On our return to the Rhone Valley we paid a visit to Glion and 

 Sonzier on May 26th, and found Melitaea aurinia {artemU) abundant near 

 the latter place and not so worn as on the same date in 1907. I should 

 add that we crossed the Simplon on May 22nd and 23rd from Varzo to 

 Brig, and except a few common butterflies between Varzo and Gondo 

 saw nothing lepidopterous all the way. The snow was very deep for 

 two miles or so on each side of the summit. Berisal was open only to 

 painters and carpenters, and on our downward tramp it snowed and 

 rained all the day. 



In 1911 we were at Bex from June 12th to 24th, when incessant 

 rain at last drove us homewards. A few notes on some of the more 

 interesting butterflies will be all I need say about so well-known a 

 district. Melanaryia i/alathea was extraordinarily abundant. At St. 

 Triphon, in the meadows on each side of the Gryonne, Coenoni/tiipha 

 iphis was nearly as common, males worn, females in fine order. There 

 were numerous species besides, but none really plentiful there. 

 Farart/e achine occurred at Vernayaz, between Aigie and Sepey, at St. 

 Triphon and Bex, and commonly near Ollon, where I knocked it out 

 of trees during a heavy thunderstorm. It was perfectly fresh. On 

 June 20th I found Chattendenia [Theda) w-albiim on the banks of the 

 Gryonne. Aiieia eumedon swarmed in the meadows below Villars-sur- 

 Bex. The males were going over, but one could take any number of 

 both sexes from the geraniums whose purple flowers were a conspicuous 

 feature on all the slopes above Bex. A few Erehia oeme were the only 

 other butterfly of note there. On June 18th, between Vernayaz and 

 Martigny, I saw or took 54 species, including every one of the butter- 

 flies to be found there in mid- June ; yet 1 do not think they were so 

 common as in June, 1908. Two Heodes vinjanreae g are perhaps 

 worth recording for the date. On June 21st-23rd we crossed the 

 Simplon from Iselle to Brig. Again I found Pamassius mnemosi/ne 

 below Gondo, very worn. Loweia alciphron var. {/ordius was just out, 

 and Melitaea plioebe and M. athalia gave some fine forms. 



At Berisal there were plenty of Pamasslus mnemmyne, and one or 

 two Colias phicomone, but little else. Krebia evias and Paratge hiera 

 were worn out. Between there and Brig Pleheius aryua (aegon) was in 

 thousands. At the second Refuge Plebeius zephyrits var. lycidas was 

 scarce and worn, while L'oLyoinitiatus escheri, equally scarce, was very 

 fresh. That butterfly captured on the afternoon of the 23rd proved to 

 be the last we were to take in Switzerland in 1911. 



I append a list of butterflies taken at Laveno on Lake Maggiore 

 on May 19th and 21st, 1910 :— 



Hesperia alveus, tl. inalvae, Nisoniad.es tayes, Auyiades sylvanus, 

 Loueia dorilis, EiDiiicia phlaeas, Cupido ininiiiiKS, Ayriades thetis, I'uly- 

 0)nmatHs icarus, Alicia iiiedon (astrarche), Scolitantides orion, Callophrys 

 riibi, Hawearis Iticina, Iphiclides podalirius, Fieris brassicae, P. napi, P. 

 rapae, Eiichloe cardauiines, Leptosia sinapis, Colias hyale, Gonepteryx 

 rhamni, Brenthis dia, Melitaea didyma, M. phoebe, M. athalia, Vanessa io, 



