DESCRIPTION OF A NEW TALAEPORTAI) SPECIES. 255 



as we have said, there is notliin<>-, or next to nothing, of importance 

 except a few purely Aljiine species, but the moment one passes the hotel 

 at the summit and commences the descent to lievisal the sport hej^ins. 

 The roads are covered with insects — Hirhia iiit/m (at a much higher 

 level than on the south side), H. (i<i<(iitr, K. tiindarx^, M. iiirlaiiijuia, 

 7'rtr»a.s.s///,s- apollo, Sati/nis alci/inic, l'iihi<iiiiiiiatiis vdri/doii, I', astran/ir, 

 r. irani.s (not seen on south side), /'. (hnnclii, Clin/sdjilianus rinjaii- 

 reac, Pavcmje macra, Hijiparc/iia soiirlc, and many other species occur- 

 ring in the greatest profusion down to Berisal, and puzzling one by 

 their abundance at such a comparatively high elevation. For some 

 miles below Berisal insects appear to be particularly abundant, and 

 An/i/nnis niobe, A. ai/laia, and Melitaea diihjma make very striking 

 features by the w^ayside, whilst Dn/aa papJiia was also frequently ob- 

 served. Lower again L'olias Injale and very brightly-tinted (ront'jitcnj.i- 

 rhamni add colour to the scene, whilst I'apilio niachaoii and I', jioda- 

 liriiis arouse one's ardour for a chase. Some insects, such as Mclan- 

 aiujia (jalathca and Kpinciiltclc lijccu^i, appear to be in amazing profu- 

 sion, others such as Liincnitis camilla are only to be occasionally ob- 

 served. Pi/rcuni'is canliti, V. atalanta and ^ 'o^m.s «v/((.srt were observed 

 near Brigue, and many other species that slip one"s memory. It may 

 be well here to note that, below Himplon village, Erchia pit/io quite 

 outnumbers E. r/oaute, w'hilst above the village 7V. f/uanti' is much the 

 more abundant, on the north side of the pass E. pitlio reaches quite as 

 high as E. f/oante, and is, so far as our observations went, the more 

 abundant at the highest levels. Antlirmrra transaljiina appears to be 

 the only common species of this genus to l)e found by the wayside, 

 although below Simplon A. pHrpurcdi^ {ii)i)ios), and A. )iiedi<ai/iHis were 

 both somewhat connnon. Such are a few of the insects seen by the 

 wayside in a rapid run over the pass in early August. Possibly this 

 may attract a paper from some other of our many observers who have 

 made observations on the fauna earlier in the year, when V(ilij(»i>)iiatm 

 h/cidas is still to be had at Berisal, and the early Erebias have not been 

 replaced by the later ones. 



Description of a new Talaeporiad species : — Talaeporia vernella, n. sp. 

 With a further description of T. defoiiella, Cnst. 



By A. CONSTANT (Member of the Hoc. Eiit. de France); 



Talaepokia vernella, Cnst, — <? . Envergure : ll-12iinn. Fond des ailes 

 snperieures d'un gris jauniitre ou argileux, seme irreguliermcnt sur toute sa 

 surface d'un assez grand nombre de traits noiratres, tres courts, ordinaircment plus 

 t'pais sur la cote, et formant chez les sujets en bon etat une sorte de rcscau a mailles 

 plus ou inoins serrees ; quelquefois une bande transversale de meme couleur, ctroite, 

 interrompue, contourne Textremite de la cellule, et aboutit un peu avaiit le milieu 

 du bord interne, sur lequel sa presence n'est souvent indiquee que par une petite 

 tache obscurement quadrangulaire. Angle anal peu saillant, arrondi, presque 

 efface. Frange de la couleur du fond, distinctement entrecoupce de noiriitre. 

 Ailes inferieures d'un gris pale uni. Dessous des quatre ailes de la meme couleur 

 que le dessus, mais sans reproduction sensible des traits et dessins des supi'rieures. 

 Corps entierement d'ungris-brun. Antennes brunes, avec deux rangs opposes de cils 

 courts. La ? m'est inconnue. Alpes-Maritimes en mars. Beaucoupd'exeniplaires. 



Espece unpeu voisine de Wdjicst nil a, mnis toujours plus petite, d'envi- 

 ron diinn.; sa tete est brune et nonljlanchatre; ses ailes sont d'un teinte 

 plus foncee, et les superieures sont plus chargees d'atomes noiratres. 

 J'aurais desire etablir une description comparative avec la vinisjinr- 



