260 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S EECORD. 



this occiu'red in both sexes, i.e., five-spot males with six-spot females, 

 and six-spot males with five-spot females. AVe certainly incline to look 

 on these six-spotted examples as the result of a cross between ^. 

 lonicerae and A. tramalpina, which was not uncommon on the same 

 ground, although we have no proof of the supposition. A. carniolica 

 was over, and A. ackiUeae but rarely seen. The absence of A. exulaufi 

 on all the higher slopes that we explored was very unexpected, f 



But the high alps were much more to our taste, and so far as we 

 explored them we had no cause to complain of a single day's sport. 

 Everywhere there Avas an abundance of lepidoptera, and the only 

 difficulty that occurred was in the rapid selection of what one wanted 

 as one covered the ground, and one frequently felt that one was 

 spending insufficient time in the most promising spots to find out 

 what really was there. Two localities in particular we would suggest 

 as being exceptionally good. One of these is the ascent to the Pointe 

 de la Lauze, the other of the Crete de Eeychasse. The Pointe de la 

 Lrauze is reached by means of a zig-zag course through a great larch 

 forest. Directly opposite the Grand Hotel a path leads to a 

 little bridge crossing the Guil, and once over the bridge one finds one- 

 self at once on the zig-zags that lead direct to the peaks above. The 

 whole fauna of the forest gives one the impression at first blush of 

 being purely subalpine — CUoiiene lutcaria, AdiMiaflaveolaria, Larcntia 

 verberata, SciapMlaaiyentana, and other characteristic common subalpine 

 species fly out at every step, and every flower-head holds Anthrocem 

 lonicerae var. major, A. transalpina, Erebia curyale, Parnassius apollo, 

 Gnophos obfuscata and similar species, whilst Argynnis niobe and A. 

 aglaia meet one everywhere. But when one reaches an opening — and 

 the openings in a larch forest like this form a veritable paradise for 

 the lepidopterist — one is less sure of the distinct alpine fauna, 

 and is astonished at the mixture to be found. Brenthis pales, Colias 

 phiconione, C. palaeno, Erebia curyale, E. tyndariis, E. epiphron, 

 Chrysophanm hippothoe var. eurybia, Plebeius aryus, Polyommatus 

 orbitulm, P. eras, P. eamednn, Melitaea parthenii;, C'oenonympha ijjhis, 

 Argynnis niche, A. aglaia, &c., meet one at every turn, and Papilio 

 macJmon, as usual, seeks the high knolls, but mixed with these more 

 or less subalpine species one sees a brilliant Goneptcryx rhamni flying 

 across the clearnig, or Colias hyale skimming along, together with an 

 abundance of Aporia crataegi, Pieris rapae, P. napi, Chrysophanus 

 virgaureae, Polyommatus astrarche, P. corydon, P. hylas, P. damon, 

 Nomiades semiargus, Cupido minima, Melitaea didyma, M. p)hoebe, 

 Brenthis amathusia, Argynnis lathonia, Erebia neoridas, Satyrus actaea, 

 Pararge rnaera, Epinephele lycaon, Syrichthus alreus, Thymeli<;its lineola, 

 Pamphila comma, and probably many other species unnoted. These 

 species at least were in all the large clearings in the forest, and the 

 myriads of Larentia caesiata and Cidariapopulata disturbed as we walked 

 along were more than bewildering, and quite prevented one picking 

 out the apparently rarer Cidaria immanata, a few of which were obtained 

 by promiscuous waving among a crowd of startled moths, Rypsipetes 

 sordidata also being occasionally netted in this haphazard way. Some- 

 thing useful occurs at almost every step, and here and there the wealth 

 of wild flowers is delightful, but presently one strikes the path that 

 the cows take to the pastures every morning, the larches begin to thin 

 out, the alpine rohododendron, with many bunches of its gay blossom 



