234 [September, 



[A 



comes down from the hills, just to the north of tK and, having 



an opportunity of landing in the afternoon, I rambled along its bed 

 for a couple of miles or so. Here I saw a good many insects, including 

 the fine and rare Papilio (Enomaus (I think), but it kept well out of 

 reach, and I got only one poor specimen. I also took .. fine yellow 

 Ornithoptera, the only one I saw. The commonest insect wa a very 

 beautiful Fieris, richly marked beneath with deep orange on a velvety 

 black ground. 



On the following day (16th) we moved over to the Island of 

 Semao, about eight miles distant, where the Dutch Government keep 

 a store of coal, and while we were coaling, I managed to get the 

 forenoon on shore, and for the first time since leaving England, met 

 with tolerable success in Lepidoptera. The very first butterfly I saw 

 (and caught) was the rare and beautiful Cethosia Leschenaultii, un- 

 fortunately a little damaged ; during the forenoon I took another in 

 most beautiful order, and missed a third. The Island, for some 

 distance inland, consists of upheaved coral rock, covered with dense 

 brushwood and trees of moderate size, and very difiicult to traverse ; 

 but I found a good path which extended for more than a mile through 

 the bush, and here I was able to get some very satisfactory collecting. 

 There were several Papilios {Polydorus, Pammon ?, &c.), and a fine blue 

 species, allied to P. Ulysses, was seen once or twice, but it kept too 

 high up to be caught ; a very fine Oharaxes was also seen several 

 times, but I succeeded in getting only one very bad specimen. Pieris, 

 Callidryas (some fine species), Terias, Pontia, and Danais, were well 

 represented, and flying with the latter I got three beautiful specimens 

 of a Cethosia (since found at Port Darwin, I think it will be C. Pen- 

 tliesilea, Godt.), deceptively like Danais Chrysippus on the wing. 

 Neptis aceris, or a closely allied species, was very abundant, and a fine 

 Thestias was more often seen than caught ; altogether I caught or 

 observed at least 35 species of butterflies, and brought off something 

 like 100 specimens, quite as many as I could set out at once. The 

 place was too dry for Coleoptera, although I tried beating, &c. ; a 

 species of Mylahris, very like some of the Mediterranean forms, was 

 almost the only beetle observed, all the dead timber in the clearings, 

 etc., was full of " white ants," to the exclusion of beetles. Hymen- 

 optera were well represented, and I took one or two fine and conspi- 

 cuous species. Altogether I liked Semao very much as a collecting 

 ground, and was very sorry that we had to leave so soon. 



We were off again at daylight on the 17th, and at 9 a.m. sighted 

 Cartier Islet, our first station on the surveying ground, its position 



