928 THE ENTOMOLOGIST’S RECORD. 
disturbed in its repose by the rush of the passing diligence. Satyrus 
alcyone, deep-coloured Gonepteryx rhamni, swift-flying Colias hyale and 
C. edusa, Melanargia ygalathea, not in the best condition, Hpinephele 
lycaon and apparently Hrebia ligea, are all noted in abundance before 
La Maison du Roi is reached, and already it is quite evident that 
Polyommatus damon is to be the ‘“‘blue” of the valley, as, deed, it 
afterwards proved to be, occurring in countless thousands in both sexes 
everywhere. It appears impossible to name the Fritillaries as one 
passes them, but one is certain of the road-loving Argynnis lathonia, 
that fans its wings so delightfully, Dryas paphia, Aryynnis adippe and 
A. aylaia, as also the bright-tinted males of Melitaea didyma, whilst the 
females of the latter are evidently exceedingly variable. Parnassius 
apollo, too, very large fellows, come lazily flying down, and swift-winged 
Pieris daplidice cannot be mistaken, nor can large full-coloured Papilio 
machaon; the skippers of the valley are evidently Thymelicus lineola, 
Pamphila comma and Syrichthus alveus, whilst S. sao is worn and 
evidently over. La Maison du Roi is an inn apparently exceedingly 
well placed for working the nearer end of the valley, and in a most pictur- 
esque position, and here we might add that the valley would be a perfect 
paradise for the photographer. Our great regret, however, is that we 
were not sufficiently well-versed in geology to unravel the many 
geological problems presented by the valley, and there were many times 
when we would have given much to have had a really good geologist 
for a companion. The inn, La Maison du Roi, does not look, however, 
especially inviting, although one knows from experience that many 
alpine inns are much more comfortable inside than their outward 
appearance would lead one to suspect. 
We have said before that the valley is full of insects—Orthoptera, 
Lepidoptera, and in particular Diptera, some of which can, on 
occasion, bite most furiously, and a friend’s satisfying description, 
‘“‘beautiful beast,’’ was frequently indulged in as one squeezed the 
life out of a persistent green-eyed gad-fly, with the greatest satisfaction. 
Our journey up the valley in the afternoon and evening, 4 p.m.-10 p.m., 
and our journey down in the morning, 8a.m.-1 p.m., proved to the hilt 
that the statement was literally true, but what insects these wild and 
romantic valleys really hide we do not know, dozens of species of 
Rhopalocera must be hidden in the sequestered nooks that one sees every- 
where, and these, only a prolonged stay or previous knowledge is likely 
to discover. All we can say is that the ground is wild, rough, and 
almost everywhere uncultivated, and that Chateau Queyras would 
appear to be a really good centre for the middle part of the valley. 
There is one remarkable village between Chateau Queyras and 
Abriés, called Aiguilles. Everyone knows the squalid and unsavoury 
nature of the average cottage of an alpine village. Here, side by side 
with cottages of the poorest description, large mansions have been 
built by natives, who, having emigrated to America, have made a 
considerable fortune in ‘‘ cheese,’ and then returned to their natiye 
village, where their money makes them people of importance, and 
erected themselves those modern dwellings that look so strangely out of 
place in this little hamlet. At least twenty of these are to be found in 
this one small village. 
Our centre, as we have said, was Abriés, a village 5,085 feet above 
the sea, and it was here that our walks were taken and our collecting, 
