82 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ACADEMY OF [1885. 



and insects find in the verdant groves a veritable paradise. The 

 Lo-fan Mountains besides this, probably owing to their majestic 

 scenery and rich flora, have for more than ten centuries enjoyed 

 a reputation of great sanctity. In the deep caves and mountain 

 forests of the Lo-fan, hermits, sages and priests have lived and 

 taught their disciples from time immemorial ; while, in accordance 

 with both Buddhistic and Taoistic precepts, all animals, birds, 

 reptiles, insects, and even the delicious trout of the mountain- 

 streams have been kept from harm and allowed to breed undis- 

 turbed. Passing through the thickly populated districts of Pok-lo 

 and Tong-kun, a low, undulating range of hills connects the Lo- 

 fan with the mountainous country opposite Hongkong. And 

 hence it comes that the entomology of the island is so extensive 

 and varied. 



Hongkong lies between 22° 9' and 22° 1' north latitude, and 

 114° 5' and 114° 18' east longitude ; the island is, therefore, just 

 inside the tropics, but near enough to the boundary to enjoy fine, 

 temperate weather from September to April. To a considerable 

 extent, the insular fauna shows close relationship with the fauna 

 of the tropics ; and yet there can be no doubt that some few of 

 the tropical features are not characteristic of Hongkong. To this 

 category belong notably Python 7'eticulatus, Gray, the rock python 

 of India, and the venomous cobra, Naja tripudians, Merr.; very 

 possibly, also Macrochlamys superlita, Morelet — a fine land snail. 

 The Lepidoptera, however, are very distinctty related to the 

 entomic fauna of the Himalayas, East India, and the Malayan 

 Archipelago. During a stay of several years in Hongkong, the 

 writer devoted much time and attention to the study of the 

 insular fauna, and formed large collections of the lepidoptera and 

 terrestrial mollusks. In the spring of 1883, the writer published 

 a work on Hongkong, in which a short list of the diurnal Lepi- 

 doptera was given. But this list was necessarily incomplete, as 

 the writer had not enjoyed any opportunity of subjecting his 

 collections to competent scientific inspection and classification. 

 Since then, thanks to several important works which have 

 appeared on the Insect Fauna of various parts of Asia, the writer 

 has been enabled to compile the following list in a far more 

 thorough manner. Outside of Donovan's " Insects of China " — 

 which will be mentioned later on — no work has ever been published 

 on the entomology of China, and, beyond a few chapters in the 



