116 THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S RECORD. 
Lepidoptera at Locarno. 
By T. A. CHAPMAN, M.D., F.Z.S., F.E.S. 
Locarno does not appear to have escaped the inclement and late 
winter that affected so large a part of Europe, and during the portion 
of April I spent there things were quite two or three weeks later than 
in 1899. On April 6th, 1899, I saw 26 species of butterflies in a 
quarter of an hour on a scrap of ground of about one-eighth of an acre. 
Several days later this year the same spot had quite a wintry aspect 
and no grass had begun to grow. On the 14th a couple of warm days 
had given the grass a start, but a solitary Huchloé cardamines was the 
only butterfly to be seen on this spot. This year there had been no 
warm or even fine dry weather up to the middle of April, hence the 
difference. Last year Polyommatus orion occurred everywhere during 
the first half of April. This year two very small specimens were seen 
for the first time near the Madonna del Sasso on April 15th, and were 
so far the only Lycenids observed. The 18th and 19th were two 
fairly warm days, and on the 20th P. orion was flying more freely. 
Nevertheless, it would be wrong to represent butterflies as absent. 
On every bright day Gonepterya rhamni was seen flying solitarily nearly 
everywhere, but altogether in some numbers, but certainly less freely 
on the 18th and 19th, when some warm weather began. Of other 
hibernated species, Vanessa io, Aglais urticae, Hugonia polychloros, 
Polygonia c-album were tolerably frequent, V. to being the most 
abundant, but very closely followed by Huvanessa antiopa, which 
occurred everywhere, a score or so being sometimes seen in a day’s 
walk. Last year only one or two were seen, the difference being very 
marked, the most abundant home being apparently in the Val Verzasca. 
Unlike the English (?) specimens, with their classical white borders, 
that I saw so abundantly at Grenoble some few springs back, these 
were all genuine continental specimens, with straw-tinted borders, and 
some specimens were very fresh and in fine condition. 
Of spring emergences Papilio podalirius was the most notable 
species. The first was seen on April 10th, and after a few days they 
were quite frequent, loving to settle and feed on the blossoms of the 
peach trees, which by the 16th were in full bloom, making a most 
pleasing combination of form and colour. The peach trees alone in 
full bloom resulted in a most glorious effect as seen at sunset from the 
Ponte Brollo. The wide valley looking up to Intragna is picturesque 
enough, but the peach trees are here very abundant, and the sun 
shining through the petals showed their rich colour with a most 
luminous effect. Papilio machaon was also observed on April 10th, but 
only one or two other specimens were seen. <Aryynnis latona was 
frequent. A few specimens were worn enough to show that it had 
been on the wing some time. ‘This seems to be by far the earliest of 
the Argynnidae to emerge, occurring at Cannes in February or even 
January, and always a good month earlier than Brenthis dia, which 
seems to be the next species to emerge, but not perhaps clearly earlier 
than B. euphrosyne. Huchloé cardamines, Pieris rapae, P. napi, Pararge 
egeria, P. megaera, and Chrysophanus phlaeas were all more or less 
frequent, but P. brassicae was not specially noted, and was certainly 
not common.  Coenonympha pamphilus began to emerge about the 
14th. Leucophasia sinapis appeared about the same date, and soon 
