THE ENTOMOLOGIST 



Vol. XLIII.] FEBEUAEY, 1910. [No. 561 



IN THE FRENCH JURA. 

 By a. E. Gibbs, F.L.S. 



The Department of the Jura possesses many charms. It 

 is a land of mountain and valley, of rushing torrents and 

 picturesque gorges, of vineyards and woodlands, of heaths 

 and meadows. It is studded with old-world villages and delight- 

 ful little towns which contain many ancient buildings, and boast 

 a history of which they are justly proud. Although so easily 

 accessible it is not often visited by English people, who, for the 

 most part, are content with a passing glimpse of such of its 

 beauties as can be seen from the windows of the railway train 

 as they pass through the northern part of it when travelling to 

 Switzerland by way of Pontarlier. The Jura Mountains consist 

 of a number of parallel chains, running roughly from north-east 

 to south-west. They are composed of limestone, and geological 

 students are familiar with the fact that they give the name 

 Jurassic to an important series of beds of the Mesozoic period. 

 These chains of mountains form the retaining walls, so to speak, 

 of three great plateaux, which are very characteristic features of 

 Jura scenery, and being of different heightsr, rising one above the 

 other, they present very interesting faunal and floral differences. 



On the afternoon of Monday, July 11th, 1909, I alighted 

 from the Pontarlier express at Mouchard, a little place of 800 

 inhabitants, but of some importance to travellers as being 

 the junction with the line which runs north-eastwards to 

 Besau9on, chief town of the Doubs, and south-westwards to 

 Lons-le-Saunier, the capital of the Jura. The country appeared 

 to be inviting from an entomological point of view. Walking 

 through the village towards the forest I found a likely-looking 

 grassy spot by the side of the railway, but it only yielded a few 

 Melanargia galatea, Polyommatus astrarche, Ephiephele jurtina, 

 and one Coenonympha arcania, not a very promising start. In the 

 forest one or two Brenthis dia were flying. The heavens were 

 overcast, and although I spent the remainder of the working-day 

 exploring the neighbourhood, nothing more was to be got except 

 one or two specimens of Leptosia sinapis. The next morning 



ENTOM. — FEBRUARY, 1910. K 



