NOTES ON A BUTTERFLY HUNT IN FRANCE IN 1910. 325 



bramble-blossoms, and with them, worn and much less frequent, 

 T. acacue. 



To all appearances the weather had now settled, but in the 

 night there was a change, and thenceforward the summer seemed 

 to have taken wings. After a tremendous thunderstorm about 

 ten o'clock next morning a walk up the Mirabel road revealed 

 two broods of Polyommatus corydon overlapping, for we took very 

 broken and old females flying with quite fresh male examples ; 

 Nyons, no doubt, with Mont Ventoux, producing the gen. vernalis, 

 of which so much information has been recently made available 

 by Dr. T. A. Chapman (Proc. Ent. Soc. Lond.'l909 and 1910), 

 Dr. J. L. Reverdin, of Geneva, and Mr. J. W. Tutt. Flying 

 about the low ivy-covered walls, E. pasijjhae v^a,s also not uncom- 

 mon, but it is a short-lived insect, and before we left Nyons the 

 females were already wasted. 



A French engineer, who happened to be in the hotel, having 

 informed us that Papilio alexanor was flying on the hills above 

 les Pilles, six kilometres higher up the river, and presented us 

 with a match-box containing two hopelessly damaged yet still 

 living males, we made this the objective of our walk on July 1st. 

 But the weather was overcast, and the long dusty road yielded 

 literally nothing beyond a few Pontia daplidice. Nor did we 

 encounter alexanor at the spot indicated, and returning on the 

 opposite bank of the Eygues by midday had taken nothing 

 worth recording, except two beautifully fresh and strongly 

 marked Anthrocera rhadamanthus, a fine southern Zygsenid not 

 met with again. But after lunch, finding ourselves back at the 

 entrance to our valley of June 29th, we again ascended, and late 

 in the day, on one of the many grassy footways for the use of 

 the foresters through the hillside woods, Mr. Warren came upon 

 what we afterwards found to be the headquarters of P. alexanor. 

 Here on the white melilot and scented scabious-heads this beautiful 

 butterfly occurred not infrequently with occasional C. lavaterce and 

 females of G. cleopatra, and Mr. Warren took a single example 

 of the essentially southern Anthrocera lavandula. ab. consobrina, 

 Germ. A tuft of early-flowering lavender also provided the first 

 perfect example of Lyccena arion, while in the lower meadows a 

 very fine bright form of Chrysophanus dorilis, with fresh Issoria 

 lathonia and Melitcea phoebe, divided attention with several 

 pretty specimens of M. galatea ab. leucomelas. The weather 

 of July 3rd and 4th was entirely against collecting : cloud 

 and wind and heavy thunder-rain, a long expedition in the 

 hills to the north-west, returning by the cart-track, which is also 

 for the most part the rough river-bed of a stream, past the 

 tumble-down towers of Aubres, resulting in practically no cap- 

 tures. A final visit to the alexanor ground on the 5th, under 

 same conditions, being hardly more successful, we determined 



