310 THE ENTOMOLOaiSl'S RECORD. 



it was Parnassius apollo, apparently wanting on the Swiss slope, though ' 

 when I left the village next morning the road to the summit was 

 wrapped in a thick fog, which only cleared when the summit was 

 attained and the frontier crossed. The northern face, moreover, was 

 the only locality in which I fovmd Lycsenids really abundant, and this 

 a matter of specimens rather than species. The first week of July is 

 perhaps a little early for Alpine " blues," but Lycaena avion was every- 

 where to be seen, mostly of the dark aberration approaching the var. 

 christi of the Simplon. Polyommatiis hylas, Nomiades cyllarus, and 

 Polyommatiis icarus, with Chrysophanus var. eurybia, fine and fresh, 

 completed the list, while of the fritillaries, Melitaea dictynna, 

 Argyntiis cuUppe, and A. lathonia were fairly abundant, and on every 

 rock where a sun bath was to be enjoyed Pararge maera had taken up 

 its position. Unfortunately, the next day the sky became overcast in 

 the morning, and though I had six hours to wait at Chiavenna for the 

 train to Sondrio, I could do little collecting. Judging, however, from 

 a brief climb among the chestnut woods, cut short by a shower of 

 what seemed to be hot water, I should say that this, the junction of 

 the roads from the Engadine and the Oberalp route, was a first-rate 

 place for the entomologist. Polyommatiis orion, newly emerged, was 

 in force on the sedums along the low stone walls, a brilliant Melitaea 

 didynia, with Leucopliasia var. diniensis, fluttered on the outskirts of 

 the forest, and on every bramble-blossom Syntomis phegea contested for 

 the superiority Avith one or other of the Anthrocerids. My object in 

 traversmg the Splugon was to reach Chiesa — a small Italian village 

 situated in the Yal Malenco about ten miles north of Sondrio. I had 

 no idea of what this valley might produce, but the description in 

 Baedeker read temptingly, and so I directed my steps thither on the 

 7th. From every other point of view than that of the bug-hunter the 

 expedition was a success, but, for some reason or other, the Val Malenco 

 was at this time of the year singularly destitute of even the common 

 species. At Sondrio, P. podalirius was to be seen in the streets, and 

 again P. orion was common enough, but no sooner did I begin to 

 ascend than the butterflies became scarcer and scarcer with the notable 

 exception of Melitaea athalia, certainly the insect of this walk. The 

 three days' spent at the very comfortable Albergo01ivo,in Chiesa, were 

 rather against collecting, but a walk to the Palii Lake (6,320'), passing 

 the asbestos mines, should have yielded a fair bag, though I only saw 

 Coenonymplia satyrion, Chrysophanus var. eurybia, Nomiades semiargus, 

 and a few worn Erebia ceto, while near the village a specimen or two of 

 Eugonia iwlychloros was in evidence. My first week, in fact, showed 

 a very poor return for a good deal of hard collecting, and finding 

 Chiesa barren of results I packed my boxes and headed for the 

 Stelvio. There is an appetising catalogue of species occurring on this, 

 the highest carriage pass in Europe ; you may read of them in Dr. Frey's 

 Swiss hand-book, which includes this corner of Italy and part of the 

 Austrian Tyrol as well. Suffice it to say, that I came across pretty well all 

 the butterflies recorded therein, and a few beside. Bormio, or, rather, 

 the Nuovi Bagni di Bormio where I put up, is surrounded by somewhat 

 sterile hills, gradually merging into the highly-cultivated Valtellina. 

 I had not realised that I had struck one of the best localities for 

 Erebia nerine var. reichlini until just above the hotel I found the road 

 and the hot limestone slopes teeming with this splendid butterfly, the 



