1892.] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 3I 



The valley, as may be seen from a map, is situated on the west 

 slope of the Sierra Nevada, and through it the north branch of 

 the Merced River flows. The general course of the river is 

 southwesterly at this point and it plunges over two falls called the 

 Nevada and Vernal to a depth of about 3000 feet below the gen- 

 eral level of the surrounding country and flows, with but slight 

 descent, for a distance of five miles between nearly vertical walls 

 which are, on an average, a mile apart. This canon is the Yose- 

 mite Valley, and its level floor would be covered with fine trees 

 and shrubs were it not for the work which is being done by those 

 in charge of the valley, who, I am sorry to say, have already 

 succeeded in spoiling the once picturesque beauty of Mirror 

 Lake by means of a dam and other improvements (?). 



Lepidoptera were abundant during the first part of our stay, 

 more especially the butterflies; we found but few moths. Later 

 in the season they became much less common, and it was more 

 and more difficult to obtain larvae as nearly all the small plants 

 died by reason of the dry season which set in soon after we ar- 

 rived. We collected forty-nine species of butterflies, but not all 

 were found on the floor of the valley. Papilio rtitulus and P. 

 euryynedon were common, but P. indra, which is a true mountain 

 species, and occurred about the edge of the valley at an altitude 

 of 7000 feet above the sea, was seldom seen there, although a 

 few examples wandered down. Neophasia nienapia was common 

 towards the end of Summer flying slowly about the tops of the 

 Pinus ponderosa, or alighting on flowers. Pieris beckerii and 

 P. sisymbrii were found in considerable abundance on the summit 

 of Cloud's Rest, a peak 10,000 feet high, overlooking the valley, 

 but I did not see them elsewhere. Several species of Antho- 

 charis occurred, but not in the valley proper. A. lanceolata was 

 found on the talus at different altitudes, but they did not appear 

 in the valley, and it is surprising how closely they confined them- 

 selves to the rocks, as if aware that the marbled colors of the 

 lower surface of their wings were only fitted to harmonize with 

 the gray granite of the broken rocks. The ubiquitous Colias 

 eurytheme was to be seen all Summer, and I captured one male 

 specimen of C. behrii, to which I shall again refer. Danais 

 archippus was not uncommon, and two eggs of this species were 

 found on a wild gooseberry bush, where they had been laid ap- 

 parently by accident (there was no milkweed near). The larvae 



