- On days when young Vladimir could go interrupted by Bolsheviks and and former Presidents, he walks the Vyra paths into fields and forests. A type of butterfly called Arran Browns are out, though they only emerge every other year, and this is an "on" year.
- Nabokov calls this "convenient," perhaps meaning it was or wasn't actually a year the Arran Browns were out, but it plumps the story nicely. (6.4.2)
- Vladimir sees and catches many beautiful specimens, only to groan at the end of the day when he sees a hole in his net, having lost it all.