30 THE LEPIDOPTERIST 



insect would appear in the first half of October and 

 continue to be found until well into November. At 

 this time of the year the meadows had already turned 

 brown and, though the "final" snowfall used to come 

 not before the middle of November, minor snow falls 

 were frequent during October. Alpina was found 

 exclusively at the electric light, and the great majority 

 of specimens were males. The moths, when attracted 

 to the light of high-posted arc-lamps, would seldom 

 come down to street level but preferred to attach 

 themselves to the insolated wires near the lamp where 

 they still could be found sitting during the following 

 day. It required some efifort to bring them down, and 

 a long bamboo stick was used to advantage. A few 

 females were obtained in the same way and readily 

 laid eggs, in fact, oviposited on the fingers when held 

 in the outstretched hand. My friend who left for 

 Germany, succeeded in rearing about forty-five speci- 

 mens, males and females in equal numbers. The 

 remaining quantity of eggs kept in Davos at a slightly 

 too high temperature hatched at the same time, in 

 March, when, to my great distress, no food was avail- 

 able. Branches sent from Germany by mail arrived 

 too late to save them. The caterpillars of P. v. alpina 

 feed on Larch {Lari.r euro pa), and it would be of 

 interest to know whether the species occurs in Siberia, 

 the original home country of this tree. 



Very commonly were found, near Davos, on Vacci- 

 nhini uliginosnm, Salix arbiiscula and other low shrubs, 

 the caterpillars of Eriogaster %>. arbusciilse Freyer, a 

 form considered a variety of Er. lanestris; but I have 

 never found the imago in several years collecting. 

 This species, like Hepialus ganna, frequents the region 

 above the tree limit and seems to fly very early in the 

 season when this region is practically unaccessible be- 

 cause of remaining masses of deep snow in the forests. 

 On the first mountain excursions of the year one usu- 

 ally meets already with the young caterpillars. On 

 the other hand, I have never made an attempt to rear 

 the latter, discouraged by the notion that the pupae 

 need at least four but sometimes nine years of rest 



