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XIX. On the butterflies of the French Pyrenees. 

 By H. J. Elwes, E.L.S., F.Z.S., &c. 



[Read October 5th, 1887.] 



It is a curious fact how little attention has been paid 

 by English lepidopterists to the butterflies of Europe 

 generally. It is not so in all branches of Natural 

 History, and, as regards birds, I may say that there is 

 hardly a country in Europe on which able ornithological 

 memoirs are not to be found in the pages of ' The Ibis ' ; 

 whilst on European butterflies there is hardly a paper 

 of real importance in any English entomological journal. 

 The only two general works on European butterflies by 

 Englishmen, namely, Kirby's ' European Lepidoptera ' 

 and Lang's ' Butterflies of Europe,' are mere compila- 

 tions, without much original observation or special 

 knowledge of the subject, and only of use to beginners. 



Though I cannot pretend that the present paper 

 is anything more than a preliminary list, yet, as 

 there is, so far as I know, no complete catalogue of 

 Pyrenean butterflies in existence, I hope it may have 

 some interest to the members of the Society. And, in 

 order to make my notes more useful, I have included the 

 names of species found by M. de Graslin, Struve, and 

 MM. Bene and Charles Oberthiir, who have all written 

 on the Pyrenean Lepidoptera. To M. Charles Oberthiir 

 I am not only indebted for much kind guidance and 

 assistance during the time I was at Vernet, but also 

 for looking over and correcting the list I drew up, which 

 his ten or twelve years' experience in the Pyrenees 

 enabled him to do with some confidence in its accuracy. 



The works I have consulted in writing this paper are 

 as follows : — 



A. de Graslin, ' Notice sur deux Explorations Entomo- 

 logiques faites dans les Pyrenees Orientales en 1847 

 et en 1857.' 



'Annales Soc. Ent. France,' 1862, pp. 297 — 372. 



TRANS. ENT. SOC. LOND. 1887. — PART IV. (DEC.) 



