280 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



and 1876 — I quote from memory, and may therefore be wrong as 

 to the actual 3'ears — the same thing took place. Sunday, 2lst, 

 August, dawned with a heavy snowstorm, and on a walk to the 

 Morterasch glacier I found hundreds of the imagines lying frozen 

 upon snow. As many of the trees never recover, the inhabitants 

 are naturally anxious to find a remedy ; but so far their efforts 

 have been unavailing. I travelled over the Albula pass with a 

 Grerman naturalist, who informed me that the same insect had 

 been making sad havoc among the pine trees on the beautiful 

 Ritfel Alp, at Zermatt ; but these are the only localities I have 

 heard of in Switzerland where the damage done amounts to 

 anything serious. I never saw Parnassiiis apollo in such 

 abundance or in such magnificent condition as this year. In 

 the Tyrol it simply swarmed. I saw one very pretty variety, in 

 which the ruby spots on the hind wings were united by a 

 delicately- pencilled black line. This had been taken at Bergun 

 by Mr. Sigdtmund, a naturalist resident there. — H. Rowland 

 Brown; Oxhey Grove, Stanmore, Middlesex, Sept. 2, 1887. 



London Lepidoptera. — I was glad to see that some remarks 

 and conjectures I had ventured to make were approved and con- 

 firmed by Mr. C. J. Biggs and Prof. R. Meldola (Entom. 234, 235), 

 entomologists who are better qualified than I am for such a dis- 

 cussion. With respect to the latter's note, I may mention that 

 whilst my remarks were in the press, I noticed Lyccena icarus in 

 Ladbroke Square, though in previous years it had not been 

 observed ; Cosmia trapezina, also, has since been added to my 

 list. I can also add my testimony to the fact that Hyponomeuta 

 padellus was more plentiful than usual this year. There is already 

 in my possession a respectable nucleus of London Tinese, though 

 up to the present time I have refrained from entering into parti- 

 culars, hoping to augment the number of species. As regards 

 Mr. Biggs's interesting note on the marked diminution of insects 

 generally in the metropolitan district, I have lately obtained a 

 list of captures made thirty years ago by a friend of mine, whilst 

 residing in the north of London, which includes many, now, scarce 

 species. Since it appears that a considerable amount of public 

 interest is now being evinced in the matter, and that no one is 

 engaged in drawing up a list of the London insects, I am 

 encouraged to devote myself to the task, w^ith a view to publication 

 in the ' Entomologist,' especially as I am assured by the Editor 



