64 THE entomologist's RECORD. 



to the following gentlemen who have kindly helped me with the deter- 

 mination or individual insects or whole groups of insects : — Rev. F. D. 

 Morice, Dr. M. Burr, Dr. F. A. Dixey, Sir G. Hampson, Messrs. J. 

 Hartley Durrant, L. B. Prout, C. Oberthilr, Hugh Scott and F. V. 

 Theobald. A few Thysanura and Thysanoptera were collected and are 

 being named by Prof. G. H. Carpenter and Mr. R. S. Bagnall. These 

 are not mentioned here as they are of little general interest. 



It is probably best to treat the region under discussion as an area 

 composed of four or five " zones." Luckily we were enabled to see 

 something of nearly every sort of country which is found in Algeria or 

 Tunisia, with the exception of sandy desert and clay desert (Sebcha), 

 Both of these formations are confined to the Sahara, and do not occur 

 in the same desert country which I visited. 



The Tell or Coastal Strip was only visited in the neighbourhood of 

 Tunis. The land is mostly fiat and low, and enjoys a fair rainfall. 

 In spring the vegetation is lush and vigorous, and in character resembles 

 that of the rest of the Mediterranean littoral. Characteristic plants are 

 a rambling Fumitory, a large (Kialis, and a very tall Fennel {Ferula). 

 You may see men hoeing Glailiolus out of their barley patches. Various 

 localities near Tunis were visited between March 19th and 23rd, 

 namely, Sidi Daoud, El Soukra, Sidi Bou Said, Carthage and the 

 Bardo. Among butterflies Pieris hiassicae was numerous — one J 

 practically lacked the black dash along the dorsum of the forewing. 

 Antliocharia eiipheno, L. { — belia, L.), one ^ on March 20th, several on 

 21st, and so on. No $ s were taken till we had left this district. 

 The specimens of (jioneptenjx deopatra taken here and subsequently 

 point unmistakeably to the species hybernating in N. Africa. Thestor 

 ballns was not taken in good condition. It occurred sparingly in 

 various places. The following species were also noted : — Pieris rapae, 

 Colias ediisa (^s), Pijraineis atalanta, Pararf/e aegeria, P&lijoiiniiatiiH 

 tcar»s* (once only, a J" ), Larentia ibericata, Stgr. (worn g"), Aspilates 

 ochrearia, Rossi, Plusia gamma, Scoparia awjustea, Steph., Mecyna 

 pohji/onalis, and Pionea ferrii«/alis, Hb. 



The following Orthoptera were taken : — Paclnjtylus cinerascens, 

 Fab., Try.calis nasuta, L. (brown), Pijnjomorpha yrylloides, Latr., 

 Acridium aeyyptium, Linn., and Fjpacrnmia strepens, Latr., among the 

 Acridians ; also one Locustid, Odontnra ah/erica, Br., among rank 

 herbage by Lake Sedjoumi. One J of the earwig Labidura riparia, 

 Pall., was taken on a pump handle at Carthage. 



I also captured the following Hymenoptera •.—Pollutes yallicas 

 makes its nest commonly on the swollen stems ("leaves") of the 

 Barbary Fig or Prickly Pear [Upuntia, neither a Fig nor a Pear, but a 

 Cactus !). Twice I found two individuals asleep on a nest. I am 

 unable to say that they were of opposite sexes, as one eluded me on 

 both occasions. It would, perhaps, be interesting to find the c? 

 assisting the $ . I found one single nest of Chalicodoma sicida, Rossi, 

 and captured the ? . The nest was on a flat stone in a very hot place, 

 and consisted of a tower-like structure of red clay, containing at its 

 base a little honey. I also took Klis riliata, F. ^, Odynerus 

 (Hoplopus), consobrinns, Duf., 2 > ^licrodyneriis abd-el-kader, Sauss., 



* This identification is critical. The specimen is emphatically P. icarus, not 

 Agriades thersites. — P.A.B. 



