A BUTTERFLY HUNT IN THE PYRENEES. 245 



of moisture, too, was crowded with thirsty butterflies, Pap'dio 

 podalirius and the commoner Hesperiids being perhaps the most 

 persistent. However, the Lycasnids usual to such places were 

 rather sparsely represented, though I picked up individual fine 

 specimens of Lampides bceticus, Lyccena argiades, L. hylas, and L. 

 amandus, among the less common, but all males ; flying with them 

 were also Carcharodus altlue<e, Hesperia alveus, and H. sao. But far 

 and away the commonest butterfly on the wing was Erebia stygne, 

 which evidently follows immediately on the heels of E. evias, of 

 which I only observed a few worn females ; nor did I meet with 

 the var. pyrenaica, Buhl., at these levels. But for size and 

 brilliancy of colouring these typical stygne exceed any I have 

 ever taken ; the females being especially fine, and the ocellations 

 of the upper side of the wings large and numerous. 



On July 13th I made the ascent of the Canigou, the imposing 

 isolated rock which surveys the Mediterranean from Barcelona to 

 Montpellier, going by way of the Col du Cheval Mort, by far the 

 easiest and most agreeable route in my opinion, as it abounds in 

 streams and springs, in striking contrast to the road by Fillols and 

 the Col des Cortalets, which is for the greater part shadeless and 

 arid. The day promised for the best when I leftLe Vernet at 5a.m., 

 and continued fine until I was within half an hour of the top six 

 hours later. At that time, however, a gale of wind had sprung 

 up, and, though no rain fell, mist and cloud gathered upon the 

 mountains, and were not dispelled until late in the afternoon. 

 The circumstance was all the more disappointing, as I had hoped 

 for at least three hours' collecting on the rocks where the higher 

 Erebias are recorded. However, I did disturb a few fine specimens 

 of typical E. lappona, close to the summit (9135 ft.), and, afcer 

 fighting against a furious wind for about an hour on the way to 

 the chalet hotel of Les Cortalets, I came to a sheltered stony 

 waste just above the tree-line, where males of Erebia melas var. 

 pyrencm, Oberth., were flying singly, and very difficult to catch. 

 The one specimen netted I associate with this variety ; it is 

 smaller than the forms of E. lefebvrei taken by me elsewhere, 

 and there is no trace of the normal ocellations on the upper side 

 of the hind wings. But Mr. Elwes (Trans. Ent. Soc. 1898), in 

 his "Eevision of the Genus Erebia" has proved conclusively 

 that Erebia melas, Hbst., does not occur in the Pyrenees, and 

 Dr. Chapman has also determined that, organically, Erebia 

 lefebvrei is a good species, with which therefore the vars. pyretuea, 

 Oberth., and intermedia, Oberth., should be associated, and not, 

 as in M. Bondou's list, with melas. The only other typically 

 alpine butterfly I encountered on this occasion was Argynnis 

 pales, flying over the alpine rose, now in full bloom, as was the 

 dwarf broom — a combination of colour at once gorgeous and 

 effective. Lower down on the route above Casteil, where I did 

 most of my collecting, Euchhe euphenoides was not uncommon, 



