246 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



the females in fine condition, and showing some considerable 

 variation from those caught by me on the Mediterranean littoral 

 and at Digne. In my Vernet specimens the flush at the apex of 

 the fore wings only shows obscurely and subordinate to the 

 heavy black markings, whereas in all my lowland females the 

 colour scheme is exactly reversed. Again, the contour of the 

 wings appears to me to be rounder than is the case with speci- 

 mens from Vesubie, Cannes, and Digne, and to approximate 

 more closely in shape to that of E. eupheno from Algeria. Lastly, 

 the suffusion of the lower wings is rather primrose than orange, 

 and the black markings generally, as well as the discoidal spot, 

 are more definite and pronounced. 



A visit to the Valley of St. Martin close by concluded my 

 excursions at Le Vernet, but I did not come across Libythea 

 celtis, which Struve reports as "not rare," though I am almost 

 certain I put up a specimen of this interesting butterfly on the 

 road to Casteil aforesaid. The valley and its approaches, how- 

 ever, afforded excellent sport, Parndssius apollo and Chryso- 

 phanus virgaurece, with Satyi-us circe, Goncpteryx clcopatra, and 

 again Lccsopis roboris being abundant everywhere. 



From July 17th to July 22nd I added nothing to my bag, 

 being engaged on an expedition to Andorra, though I should 

 certainly have waited a day or two to explore the mountains 

 about Montlouis (5280 ft.) had distances been less great and the 

 weather more settled. With the last of the road from Villefranche 

 to this place the southern character of the fauna changes, nor did 

 I notice any butterflies other than of the commoner species on the 

 ten hours' march through the tiny Republic, locked in the heart 

 of the mountains, where the pastures were gay with the great 

 purple Spanish iris, which is such a feature of the Pyrenees when 

 once across the Mediterranean watershed. I was, however, already 

 on the look-out for Lyccena pyrenaica, but the " blues " I saw on 

 the Col de Puymorens were typical orbitulus, and, as far as I 

 could observe from superficial examination on the wing, in nowise 

 different from the orbitulus of the Alps. By the 21st — one of the 

 hottest days I can remember, and spent for the most part in a 

 slow stuffy train — I had changed my venue from the eastern to 

 the central Pyrenees, and the next day, after a pleasant drive 

 from Luz, cooled by a sharp and welcome thunderstorm, arrived 

 at Gavarnie, where I remained until the 29th. 



The marked difference between the eastern and the central 

 and western slopes of the Pyrenees cannot fail to impress those 

 who make the journey of the chain from end to end. Le Vernet 

 and the lower valleys around Perpignan are more or less Medi- 

 terranean and meridional in the matter of flora and fauna. The 

 almond shares with the vine the fruitful red soil ; the parched 

 uplands are fragrant as gardens with the scented lavender and 

 odorous herbs common to these regions. Crossing from Roussillon 



