] 18 [May, 



plants are tenanted by myriads of brightly coloured beetles of various 

 species during the spring and early summer months. The " Praying 

 Mantis " (Mantis religiosa, L.) is a common insect on both sides 

 of the Straits of Gibraltar. The female is capable of giving a 

 very peevish nip with its powerful mandibles when picked up with 

 the lingers. This is not to be wondered at when it is known that 

 one of her duties in life is to kill and devour her husband on the 

 very first day of their honeymoon. The ludicroiis shape of her large 

 body, with long thin neck, reminded my companion of the pictorial 

 advertisement of a bottle of ale with arms and legs, when he saw one, 

 for the first time, perched on the edge of his net. 



Birds are apparently not very numerous individually, although 

 there are many different species (c/. Col. Irby's " Ornithology of the 

 Straits of G-ibraltar.") The most conspicuous I have noticed are the 

 hoopoe, the golden oriole, the blackbird, several eagles and hawks, an 

 occasional heron flying overhead, and flocks of goldfinches, but I have 

 been too intent on insect life to notice many of the birds that were 

 probably not far away from my hvuiting grounds. Reptiles, especially 

 lizards, swarm everywhere, which may account for the comparative 

 scarcity of Lepidoptera and birds. Snakes are plentiful, but are mostly 

 of harmless species. One snake, however, not unlike the British " slow- 

 worm " in appearance, is poisonous. It is locally known as the " vibora '' 

 (viperj or asp. iVmong the noxious creatui'es are centipedes, scorpions, 

 and tai-antula spiders, but none of them appear to do much harm, 

 because, I suppose, they are left severely alone. This is not so easy 

 with the mosquitos : these bloodthirsty insects abound everywhere 

 during the warm weather, Ibut are not as troublesome in Gibraltar as 

 formerly, owing to the vigorous measures taken by the sanitary 

 authorities for their suppression. Frogs, of several species, also 

 swarm ; every stone, above water in a running brook or " arroyo," 

 is the resting place of one or more of these amphibians, and their 

 chorus of dismal croaking is sometimes the only sound heard for miles. 

 A pretty green frog is often seen clinging to bushes or reeds in 

 swampy places. 



In Gibraltar there were two species of " geckos," one putty-coloiu-ed, 

 the other a pretty shade of olive-green with darker markings, which 

 shared with me the honours of collecting moths on the electric lamps. 

 All along the Europa main road there was scarcely a lamp-post which 

 had not its accompanying sentinel near the light. These reptiles are 

 numerous in the district ; one species is mainly pink in colour, and 



