NOTES ON A SUMMER TOUR IN SWITZERLAND. 247 



encountered on the Simplon. Aporia cratcegi, however, was com- 

 mon enough in the uncut Alpine meadows, and on the Eggerhorn, 

 at about 5000 ft., I was surprised to find Parnassius mnemosyne 

 still in very fair trim with Colias phicomone, Argynnis aglaia, 

 and A. adippe. The higher grass-slopes were almost barren. I 

 looked in vain for the usual hordes of Ccenonympha satyrion, only 

 occasional specimens were flying ; but just above the one spring 

 of the whole walk I was fortunate enough to net a worn female 

 L. alcon. Liberated from the net she at once settled down to a 

 minute plant of Gentiana (? species), and obliged with one or 

 two ova, which I sent home, in situ, to Mr. Hugh Main. He 

 handed them to Mr. A. E. Tonge, who has kindly allowed me to 

 reproduce his photograph of these very beautiful eggs, also those 

 of Z. var. lycidas discovered by me on the leaves of Astralagus 

 cxocarpus at the "Second Refuge " (Plate V.). Of the " blues " 

 generally, however, here as elsewhere, there was an unusual 

 dearth ; P. orbituliis alone appearing in any quantity, with a few 

 Z. var. (sgidion, L. arioii var. obscura, and P. eumcdon. 



After a wet day I now set to work to explore the neighbour- 

 hood systematically, but the fine days as often as not were 

 marred by a very high wind, while everything was exceptionally 

 backward in the higher regions. The Albrun Pass (7910 ft.), a 

 fine walk ending in a good deal of rocky debris with some snow, 

 should have shown sport among Erebias. But with the exception 

 of a few worn E. gorge of an undistinguished form, and some per- 

 fect Melitfsa aurinia var. merope by the wayside, there was again 

 little of note, save that E. lappona was here even in more de- 

 plorable plight than at Berisal. I did a little better on the 

 several stages that lead up to the Ritter Pass, where the cows, 

 however, had rather spoilt the grassland. On July 27th and 

 again on August 2nd, Antkrocera minos was swarming everywhere; 

 a few P. optilete and N. semiargus, the small mountain form, 

 turned up among the rhododendrons, where again I found a few 

 exceedingly wary Colias palceno with one white female snapped 

 off a hawkweed flower. Vanessa io was also coming on, and 

 Brenthis pales, generally the commonest of insects at this eleva- 

 tion, in some numbers. I also took one very worn Melitcea 

 cynthia, which puzzled me considerably, inasmuch as on the 

 Collinhorn on August 1st I had taken two very fresh males— the 

 only specimens worth bagging of this pretty fritillary seen at all. 

 There also I met with a single Erebiapharte, a couple of L. alcon, 

 and some four L. avion var. obscura ; but even E. tyndarus was 

 rarely met with. So that I am inclined to agree with Mr. Fison's 

 conclusions, published elsewhere, that Binn for Erebias is not a 

 favoured locality. Ten days' hard work, indeed, added Httle 

 either to my store-boxes, or to my knowledge of the genus. 



Leaving Binn on August 5th, I thought I would try the 

 country round Vallorbes on the frontier from which on so many 



