CONTRfHITIONS To THK FAUNA OV IMKDMONT — HT-TTKRFLIES, 229 



two oi' three specimens worth setting. This magnificent insect occurs 

 all round here (where I have never seen ( '. (dciphmn) — at Courmayeur, 

 Cogne, kc. — hut appears to be distinctly rare and very localised. 

 Typical ( '. doriliii occurs in the greatest abundance betwx>en Pre St. 

 Didier and Aosta, whilst C stihalpiiut, Hpeyer, is only o])taina])le in 

 the \'al Ferrex, above Courmayeur. Here I am inclined to kick against 

 the text-books again. ('. siihaljiiiia is larger than typical C ilnrilis (as 

 large as the spring brood of the latter from Digne, if indeed this be 

 not a quite distinct species) ; it is in many ways nearer ('. JiipjHit/ioi' 5 

 than ( '. ilorilis, and is, in my opinion, a quite distinct species. C. 

 ji/ilaeas of course occurs, but it appears to be very rare. Of the 

 LyCftnids many species occur — Plcheiits aci/on, a very small I'ace, above 

 Courmayeur, both in the Val Ferrex and towards the Val Veni ; P. 

 an/Kx abounds in the open wood just below Pre St. Didier, and a very 

 large form, as large as big Poli/omniatits iearKs^ about five miles nearer 

 Aosta, by the roadside ; /'. optiU'tc, abundant at the water on the 

 mountains ; /'. uriau, as usual with me, a single example ; P. iihervtes, 

 high up on the mountains, and then rare ; P. orhitiihin, near the 

 Glacier de la Miage ; /'. astrarchc ah. aUoiin, generally distributed ; P. 

 eyas, near the Glacier de la Miage ; /'. icanix and ah. icariuus, common, 

 less so perhaps than /,. isi-licri, the latter of which, with P. astrarrlic, 

 P. irariis, P. rnri/doii, P. iiri/iis and P. ilaiinDi, swills at the runnels 

 and bathes in the hot damp sand by the edge of the Dora. /'. hfUaiyKs 

 appears rare, an odd example or two only, but P. Iii/las is abundant, much 

 less so, ho^vever, than either P. ronidim or /'. daman. Kane notes the 

 ? of the latter as rarer than the male. The species can be taken in 

 thousands on the edge of the pinewood on Mont Gourmet, just behind 

 Courmayeur, in both sexes. P. iiii'lt'cii/rr, I presume, is not uncommon 

 in suitable places between Pre St. Didier and Aosta, but what I caught 

 were badly worn. 1'. doiKdii and /'. I'loiu-don both occur on the 

 moraine of the Glacier de la Miage, whilst ('j/aniris an/iolas and Xomi- 

 (tili's sciiiiari/iis are not common in the Val Veni and Val Ferrex. In 

 the former, too, on the fiat joining the Val ^'eni with the Alice 

 Blanche, /'. ((n/ns is in countless numbers. Li/rama (in'nnah.ohxntra, 

 at present, has been seen only on the ]\Iont de la Saxe, but I have 

 observed none of the other large blues in the neighl)ourhood. fJin- 

 I'lu'fis caiiiillaia not common, but the autunuial examples are very large 

 and present a great contrast to those from Susa. One or two Puli/- 

 ;i<»iia c-albuiii fell to the net — the species is not uncommon at Aosta ; 

 whilst a newly emerged Kniionia ixili/r/ddins was netted ott' an ash-tree 

 at Courmayeur. Atilnis nrticac and Pi/raiiicis cardni go up to about 

 6,000ft. or 7,000ft.; one finds larvit as high as the nettles and thistles 

 grow. /'. atalanta and Vani's:<a /</ prefer the lower levels, and haunt the 

 thistles with the fritillaries. Mdioiargia (jidaUa gave some very fine 

 females, whilst among the Freliias one is disappointed, l-lichia lii/ea 

 found in Pre St. Didier, gives place to rather small P. I'lin/alr, in the Val 

 Veni and Val Ferrex, Mdanipias cjiiii/inin only on tlie higher moun- 

 tains, but M. }tu'laiiqiiis on the grassy slopes of the Val Ferrex ; whilst 

 at the highest points Kirhia mncstra and /','. //"/y/r are to be found. K. 

 lajijitina, too, occurs at the greatest heights, but /•.'. fintdanis comes 

 down to the Dora Avhere the bridge crosses the river above Courmayeur. 

 On this ground, too, 7-.'. ;inantr is exceedingly abundant. The /;. 

 tijudfinis in the Val Ferrex are much larger than those on ]\Iont de la 



