LEPIDOPTERA FROM SWITZERLAND, ETC. 29 



8. LEPIDOPTERA CAPTURED DURING AN EXCURSION 

 TO SWITZERLAND AND THE ITALIAN LAKES.* 



THE following list of Lepidoptera, observed by myself and a friend (Mr. 

 M. J. Michael, of St. John's College, Cambridge), during a short trip in 

 Switzerland and the Italian Lakes last summer, may be of interest to 

 entomologists who have collected on similar occasions, as' showing how 

 much (or, rather, how little) can be done in entomology on a tour where 

 this is not the only object. When in company with non-entomological 

 friends (we were in all a party of four) a great deal of collecting has to 

 be done on the sly, as it were, I mean by resorting to such expedients 

 as walking up hills when travelling along the roads ; and by these means 

 a number of additional species were procured, though sometimes perhaps 

 at the expense of the time of the less interested members of the party. 

 Unfortunately, the time for departure from England (about the middle 

 of August) coincided with the setting in all over Western Europe of the 

 spell of bad weather w r hich prevailed for about a month continuously ; 

 and this, combined with the lateness of the season, no doubt much contri- 

 buted to the lack of species observed, and the entire absence of some 

 usually common, e. g. Daplidice, Palceno, &c. It also entirely frustrated 

 our intention of visiting Zerrnatt, where we had intended to have spent 

 some days collecting the insects of the high Alps. The total number of 

 species observed in the month was 107, of which 33 are not British 

 species. Por naming some of these I am indebted to Dr. Staudinger, 

 whose nomenclature I have throughout followed. 



LIST OF SPECIES OBSERVED. 



Papilio podalirius seen near Colico. Papilio machaon Colico, Bel- 

 laggio, Meuaggio. Parnassius apollo one 2 specimen at rest on thistles 

 near Andeer. Pieris brassicce, rapce, napi everywhere in cultivated 

 grounds. Leucophasia sinapis common in the gardens of the Villa 

 Serbelloni and elsewhere at Bellaggio ; also at Menaggio and Pallanza. 

 Colias Tiyale occurred nearly everywhere, and usually commoner than the 

 next. C. edusa with the last. The var. hdice occurred at Bellaggio 

 and Menaggio, but not commonly. .Rhodocera rhamni Villa Serbelloni 

 and Pallanza. Polyommatus virgaurece one <3 specimen near the village 

 of Spliigen. P. dorilis Baden ; common at Bellaggio and Pallanza. 

 In this species the J is quite dark above, the $ having the primaries 

 orange with dark spots, and an orange border to secondaries. P. 

 pliloeas Baden, Bellaggio, Pallanza. The Italian specimens have the 



* Ent. Month. Mag. xiv. p. 243. 



