A BUTTERFLY HUNT IN SOME PARTS OF UNEXPLORED FRANCE. 11 
cloud, so that I had little hope of achieving much in the way of 
a bag on the path to the Col Vert—a mountain walk decidedly 
reminiscent of the green unproductive Plombs of Cantal, de- 
scribed by me in the ‘ Entomologist’ (vol. xli. p. 266), the 
similarity being heightened by the clumps of golden Genista 
sagittalis—a food-plant by the way of Nomiades cyllarus, as. 
M. Rehfous tells us.* ‘The presence of innumerable herds also 
warned me of what I might expect, and the few butterflies met 
with, chiefly Canonympha pamphilus and Cupido minimus, were 
actually kicked out of the herbage. Waking next morning to 
the same depressing weather conditions, I took advantage of the 
motor for Pont-en-Royans, which makes the tour of the Gorges, 
and after an interesting and exciting journey found the sun 
shining brightly upon the most picturesque of riverside towns. 
Thence the road mounts by the Petits Goulets to the Grands 
Goulets, and on to Baraques, where I spent the rest of this and 
the succeeding day with decidedly better results. Here there is 
plenty of excellent collecting ground towards the northern 
entrance to the Gorges, as well as between Baraques and La 
Chapelle*en-Vercors, whither I was bound; and I only regret 
that time prevented my making a longer stay, and that I had 
not been able to include Pont-en-Royans itself in the plan of 
campaign. Agriades corydon males were flying on the dusty road 
outside Pont-en-Royans, and Parnassius apollo was soon in 
evidence; S. cordula and E. stygne common at the gates of the 
Grands Goulets in the Vallée d’Hchevis on the 5th and 
most of the 6th under a hot sun. Both Thecla ilicis and 
T’. spint pervaded the low sloe-bushes, with decidedly passées 
P. podalirius females evidently ovipositing, and rather worn 
occasional Limenitis camilla. Ccenonympha arcania, Aphantopus 
hyperanthus, Pararge megera, and Melanargia galatea, were all 
common and fresh ; the first perfect males of Satyrus hermione 
basked on the warm rocks and feasted upon the usual dainties ! 
Brilhant G. rhamni affected the same small coppices by the 
roadside, and a large tawny-winged butterfly which flew into my 
net proved to be a newly emerged male Hugonia polychloros. 
An even better terrain for butterflies, however, lies about a 
mile and a half out of Baraques on the road to La Chapelle, my 
next objective. At this point the mountains descend in easy 
slopes to the road, and there is an abundance of shrub and flora; 
the same red Centaurea, as before mentioned, again proving a 
most effective lure for many species. Following a cart track up 
the hill I was soon at work on what should have been a most 
productive locality if only the sun had obliged. The afternoon 
was far advanced before it came out at all strongly, and then 
nearly everything had gone to roost. The morning of the 7th 
*« * Bull. Soe. Lépid. Genéve,’ vol. ii. fase. 4, p. 241. 
