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1954
The Lepidopterists' News
145
About the 10th of July in 1936 or 1937 I climbed the Pic Long, 3194 m. alt.; there had been a lot of snow that year and this rocky peak was completely draped in snow from about 150 m. below the summit to 1700 m. beneath it, and in many places lower. While I was resting on a bit of uncovered rock half way up the northern glacier, a S. callidice perched itself on my knee; it was a lady, too friendly to catch of course, and anyhow the net was in the sack! We left our sacks alas! on rocks about 150 m. beneath the summit and as we had nearly climbed to the top S. callidice whizzed past us. We counted about 15 to 20 S. callidice flying around that summit at their usual terrific pace. They came up from below, flew round and down again, there and gone in a second, never rested and were quite impossible to catch. Even with a net I doubt if we would have captured more than one or two as on every side of this very pointed summit the rock is almost perpendicular for at least 150 m. so we had to move with care. Amongst these butterflies there were 3 or 4 9 9 ; no signs of mating, nothing for them to feed on, not even a sign of a rock plant let alone any flowers. Their behaviour was that of pure "joie de vivre". These butterflies must have come from at least 1700 m. beneath the Pic Long and flown up over glacier and snow just to circle round the top; we were there two hours, and they were still at it when we left. Their behaviour on other high peaks is always the same, but it must be a sunny day with no wind or very little.
Ai'ce Choko, St. Jean-de-Luz, Basses Pyrenees, FRANCE
ARISTOTLE'S DESCRIPTION OF THE LIFE HISTORY OF A BUTTERFLY (PSYCHE)
THOSE (animals) called psyches develop from caterpillars which grow on green leaves, especially on those of rhaphanus, which some call cabbage; first they are less than grains of millet, then they grow into small grubs and in three (a few) days into little caterpillars; after this they grow more and then become quiescent and change their shape and are called chrysalides and have a hard shell; but they move if they are touched. They are attached (to a surface) by spider-silky filaments; they have no mouth or any other obvious organs; after no long passage of time the shell bursts open and out fly the winged creatures which we call psyches.
From a transcript by Professor C. D. GORDON (McGill University) of the passage in the Paris Edition (1887) of Aristotle's works. The words in the first and third parentheses have been interpolated for clarity; the other indicates that the Greek word trisin, three, may have been textually incorrect and should have been tisin, few.
Sir D'ARCY W. THOMPSON, who has given us a translation of Aristotle's Historia Animalium, thinks that the butterfly referred to was Pieris brassier.
P. H. H. GRAY, Box 236, Macdonald College, Que., CANADA