12G THE entomologist's record. 



except a« single specimen of Papilio uiacliaon. A wire had meanwhile 

 arrived, advising us to take an American boat from Yigo or from 

 Cornfia, and another informed Mr. IMuschamp that the Swiss frontier 

 was closed except to reservists. The next few days were passed in 

 much uncertainty as to what might be the right thing to do; from the 

 replies it was plain that no help could be expected from the consuls ; 

 we decided to remain where we were, and trust to the French frontier 

 being re-opened and the train service to Paris re-established after the 

 completion of mobilisation. All hope of penetrating the mountains 

 W'ith the idea of camping there now had to be abandoned, so we made 

 the best of the grand sunny days still left to us, by working in the 

 immediate neighbourhood of Ponferrada. 



Our favourite collecting grounds were the rocky banks of the Rio 

 Sil, above the tow^n — a delightful spot, where in the hot sun, we took 

 a few Laiiipides boeticiis, several pairs of Parari/e ae(jeria gambolling 

 under the chestnut trees, and a couple of prettily-marked P. maera : 

 C. edtma and P. daplidice were everywhere, and ^'. staiiliniis was just 

 emerging. Here it was our wont to take under the trees, a light 

 repast of eggs, trout, green figs and wine, and some of us slept away 

 the afternoons in the shade of the chestnut-tree?, lulled by the gentle flow 

 of the limpid river, the singing of many birds of species unknown to 

 us, and the gentle breezes which tempered the heat of the fierce 

 Spanish sun, while the energetic minority scoured the slopes in the hopes 

 of finding new species. 



While rambling one afternoon among the ruins of an exceedingly 

 fine old castle of the Knights Templars, which dominates a bend of 

 the river, to our delight we came upon several P. podaliriiis var. 

 fei^thauielii circling round the highest tower, and ever and anon 

 alighting on the ragwort with which the enclosure was covered. 

 Being without nets, we could not resist the temptation to follow them 

 up, and had very little difficulty in taking them from the flowers with our 

 fingers, setting them free again for the mere pleasure of watching 

 them fly. 



The heat continued, culminating on August 11th in a grand 

 thunderstorm. The 12th was a hot but very pleasant day, and we 

 worked the hills through which the river cuts its way, finding much 

 the same insects as before, *S'. statilinus increasing in numbers. Mr. 

 Muschamp took the first S. fidia, just emerged. .S'. statiliuiis appeared 

 to be everywhere ; they settle most frequently on a species of holly- 

 thistle, where the ? probably oviposits. They have a habit, when 

 disturbed, of flying a short distance, but are easy to capture if stalked; 

 they like to rest on stones, with wings tilted sideways. Each day we 

 took a few P. jiodaliriiis var. feisthainelii, Mr. Muschamp picking 

 up one verj' yellow specimen. P. vtachaon were also captured, together 

 with a pair of Melitaea didyma, in co^i. A fresh brood of /'. carditi 

 were now emerging, while C. edusa seemed to be continuously brooded; 

 E. ida were still coming out, as were some Pi/)-a)iiein atalanta from 

 Pajares pupfe. During this heat wave we found the river most 

 attractive, the water being quite warm. Here, lying on the sun-baked 

 rocks, and glad of the slightest breezes wafted over the water, we 

 envied the trout darting to and fro or hiding under the rock ledges, 

 and watched the clouds of dragonflies, the deep blue males glittering 

 with purple iridescence as their wings caught the sunlight, flirt- 

 ing and mating with their greenish -yellow partners. 



