A SEASON'S COLLECTING IN THE ALPES-MAKITIMES. 35 



Argynnis aglaia, males large and highly coloured ; females 

 bright clear brown, very slightly greenish at the base and large. 

 Small males secured at Eoya and Gialorgues (= ab. nana). 



A. cydippe, rich red brown ; var. cleodoxa, and no doubt ab. 

 intermedia. A. niohe, two forms; the form, which is out a week 

 before aglaia, as in the Basses-Alpes also, is large, and has a 

 flush of salmon in the orange-brown — a very bright tint. ? another 

 species ; later one finds the ordinary form, and var. eris, various 

 depths of colour and .'■uffusion. As a rule the smaller the speci- 

 men the darker : the females [lale and show light purple lustre 

 in the black markings. 



Issoria lathonin, the first (?) emergence, May and June, nothing 

 like as bright as the later ones (? hibernates) with two gens, 

 emergences — July and August, August and September. 



Brenthis euphrosyue, males large and bright; females scarce, 

 and rather lighter than the males in the same key of colour, 

 and not shaded with bronzy-purple as in the female pales. 

 A male taken with large black lunules confluent with the 

 antemarginal band of black dots. B. daphne ; at bramble and 

 clematis ; males plentiful, but females very difficult to get at. 



B. 'nnatltiisia, common in many localities, and brigiit. B. pales, 

 found in several places, but never very common as in the 

 Basses-Alpes ; perhaps a bad year. Tyjjical males not very 

 strongly marked ; females pale. 



Melitcea cynthia: the larvae abounded, and were starving, 

 having devoured all the Plantano alpiwi to the root stock. 

 Garlands of chrysalids were hanging to grass-stems. A photo- 

 graph was taken by M. de Selys Longchamps, and a box of 

 larvae and pupae brought to me. The larvae I fed up on 

 P. lanceolata, and the large-leaved kind. My resulting imagines 

 were of a poor, not richly coloured form. A finer form occurred 

 on the Cime de Bercia, but I was a few days late, and an awful 

 wind-storm the day before I went there had spoiled all of them. 

 M. phcehe, males brilliant and varied, one a fine light ochre colour 

 well blotched witli black; banded forms of yellowish and orange- 

 red, heavily spotted velvety black. Females, very rich, some 

 all basal and median area black with l)order of red spots after 

 the style of athalia ab. navarina (? ab. 5 satnrata). One male 

 example dark mahogany tint with much black suffusion 

 C? ab. satnrata (^ , Stgr.) ; vars. orritaiiica and cetheria occurred 

 also. M. cinxia, small narrow-wing forms. One male almost 

 black, fore wings sharply elongated at the apex (? cinxiua). 

 Females, larger, pale ochie tinged greenish, the later emergence 

 more typical. JM. didynia, common ; males, bright red ochre, 

 some very slightly spotted black, others more as in the Le 

 Cannet neighbourhood. One cream-coloured male taken. Yar. 

 occidentalis, 1 took about fifteen different female forms, some very 

 pretty, almost black to pale biscuit and creamy-fawn grounds. 



