286 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



settle on a sun-warmed rock, cacalice on flowers and grasses ; 

 Andromedce is a much stronger and more active butterfly, while 

 cacalics appeared to be generally on the wane when the latter 

 was fresh of both sexes. I am not sure whether the food-plant 

 of Andromedcs is known, but I dislodged one female evidently 

 ovipositing on Dryas octopetala, which is common at these alti- 

 tudes. AndromedcB begins to show at about the lowest flight 

 of Erehia lappona (6500-7000 ft.), as I found it about Eaux- 

 Bonnes in the western P,yrenees (Entom. xliv. p. 337), of 

 which locality, with its sparse flora, ranunculus, myosotis, 

 and accidental rhododendron, the Dauphiny habitat is decidedly 

 reminiscent (Lepid. Comparee, fasc. v. pte. 2, pp. 108-9). 



The morning of the 19th was devoted to the lower part of this 

 walk, chiefly under the torrent of the Meije, where there is 

 plenty of good collecting ground. The sunny path with 

 occasional dripping water attracts swarms of insects of all 

 Orders. Hesperia carlince males were in perfect condition, and 

 among the Lycaenids I spotted, on the wing, like a silvery 

 P. eros, which species was swarming at the time, a solitary and 

 perfect male P. donzelii. It was a welcome visitor ; I had not 

 seen this loveliest of Alpine '* Blues " alive since I was at Trafoi 

 and Cortina fourteen years ago ; nor was I destined to see it 

 again this year. Two or three fine female E. pharte were 

 selected from the many on the wing ; E. euryale was now 

 commoner than ever, both here and along the river-bed where 

 I sought refuge from the prevailing hurricane on the 16th, 

 and on the finer 14th. The flora consists almost wholly of 

 leguminous plants. As might be expected, therefore, there was 

 abundance of Lycaenids, chiefly P. hylas and P. escheri. Of the 

 former I managed to box a female with the basal and median 

 area of all the wings on the upper side suffused with blue (— ab. 

 cosridescens, Obthr.). It is the only blue female in my 

 collection, for there is apparently in western Europe a far less 

 pronounced tendency in the sex of this species to assume the 

 male coloration than in the majority of the group possess- 

 ing andromorphic females. Other Lycaenids of the river-bed 

 were P. damon, hardly out; and P. thersites, one or two 

 males. 



The Anthrocerids (Zygaenidse) observed at La Grave are not 

 many — A. transalpina , A. purpiiralis, A. lonicerce and A. exidans. 

 Unfortunately I had omitted to provide myself with a resume of 

 Mr. Lowe's captures, and thus overlooked the locality, a mile 

 below the village, where, in conjunction with Mr. A. H.Jones, he 

 discovered Melitcea deione. On the 21st I left for Le Lauteret. 



(To be continued.) 



