100 ON BUTTERFLIES OBSERVED IN 



EntM.M.xv. 18. NOTES ON BUTTERFLIES OBSERVED IN THE 

 P . 275 (1879). VALAIS OF SWITZERLAND IN 1878.* 



DURING the early part of last summer, in company with my friend, Mr. 

 P. L. Sclater, F.R.S., and party, I spent about three weeks in the Valais 

 of Switzerland, and, during that time, we devoted a considerable part of 

 our energies to butterfly-catching. As the two valleys where we spent 

 the greater part of our time are rather out of the beaten track of tourists, 

 and have possibly not been visited by English entomologists before, I 

 think a few notes on our captures may be worth inserting in this Maga- 

 zine. The valleys visited, the Vals d'Herens and d'Anniviers, are two 

 of the lateral valleys which run from the main chain of the Pennine Alps 

 into the Rhone Valley, debouching into it between the better known 

 valleys of Chamounix and Visp. 



In the Val d'Herens, we made Evoleua (about 4,500 ft. above the sea) 

 our head quarters, staying there a week, and making excursions thence 

 higher up the valley, including a two days' stay at Arolla, at the head of 

 the valley of the same name, a most lovely spot (about 6,500 ft.), close 

 to the Glacier d' Arolla. and overshadowed by many magnificent snowy 

 Ent. M. M xv peaks, such as Mont Collon, the Dent d'Herens, and others. Unf ortu- 

 p. 276 (1879). nately, the weather at this period was not propitious, but one beautiful 

 day in the Val d Arolla showed what might have been done with better 

 weather. From the Val d'Herens we went over the Col du Torrent 

 (about 8,000 ft.) into the Val d'Anniviers, where we spent a week at Vissoye 

 (about 4,500), and from there, after an ascent of the Bella Tola (10,000 

 ft.), Sclater descending the other side to the Turtman Thai, returned to 

 Sierre, whence I returned home, via Brieg and Paris, whilst Sclater con- 

 tinued over the Furka and thence home by Lucerne, obtaining thus a 

 few additional species. 



The time (from about June 25th to July 15th) was probably, on the 

 whole, as good as any we could have chosen, though certainly too early 

 for the highest ranging species. The weather was only moderately good, 

 fine and wet days being in about equal proportion. Nevertheless, we 

 managed to see or capture in that time 83 species of butterflies, and 

 brought back about 600 specimens of these, as well as about 150 Hetero- 

 cera, more than double that number of Coleoptera and Hemiptera. In 

 the present notes, however, I only notice the Rhopalocera, not having as 

 yet determined fully the other groups. I may perhaps mention, to show 

 the abundance of butterflies in the Alps under favourable circumstances 

 (i. e., on a fine day), that one day (July 6th), at Vissoye, we captured 

 (or saw) no less than 45 distinct species, and on two or three other days, 



* Ent. Month. Mag. xv. pp. 275-278 (1879). 



