248 THE entomologist's record. 



little path, which apparently led to the hills, through innumerable 

 market-gardens with promising " wastes " well-flowered and treed, I 

 took, or noticed almost at once, the truly Corsican Faraiuje Diei/aera 

 var. tif/diiis, but the brood was going over, and, expecting to find 

 better specimens higher up (which I did not), I left this interesting 

 form alone to investigate the few Lyctpnids on the wing. These consisted 

 of a fine race of I'oli/ioiuiiatiis icanm, P. /lylaa, in prime condition, 

 and a beautiful brightly bordered P. axtrarche. Pontia daplkUce was also 

 common, with Cri/sophauHa dorilis and ( '. pJdaeas hardly distinguish- 

 able from the type. FJpinepheh' tithnnus with E. var. Iiispidla com- 

 pleted the butterflies I noticed on the wing, and, this being the case, 

 I was not tempted to continue my investigations longer under the then 

 vertical rays of the sun. The railway to Vizzavona runs for the greater 

 part of the four hours' journey through the Maquis — with occasional 

 breaks of chestnut-shaded villages, and, at the lower levels, eucalyptus- 

 circled stations. First a gorgeous yellow -blossomed cactus, then 

 arbutus, clematis and broom are the most conspicuous all along, 

 and it is only on the southern side of the tunnel which pierces La 

 Foce, that the pine-woods begin. The Hotel Monte d'Oro, where I 

 stayed nearly a fortnight, is about three-quarters of an hour's walk 

 through the forest from Vizzavona station, and, in the hot season, at any 

 rate, is preferable, standing as it does at an altitude approaching oOOOft., 

 to the more handily situated hotel, hard by the railway. I may add that 

 M. Budtz, the proprietor and his wife, showed me every attention, and, 

 having over many years entertained the passing bug-hunter, gave me a 

 warm welcome and most comfortable quarters. By 5 o'clock I was on 

 the mountain-side, and had made my first acquaintance with two more 

 Corsican specialities, Coenonj/mpha corinna and A(jlai.s urticae var. 

 ichnusa, the larvte of which latter species swarmed on the nettles grow- 

 " ing by the roadside. The hills, however (closely grazed and treeless 

 above a very moderate level), did not prove productive at any time, but 

 under the old fort which commands the pass, and on the "nek " itself, 

 Plebehts arijiis (aei/nn) var. cornea, with its beautiful blue-splashed 

 females, occurs in profusion, and i'ln-ywplianun jddaeas var. eletn^ very 

 dusky and well ocellated. An inspection made at home of my series, 

 leads me to suppose that the type ? P. artins {aci/on of our older lists) 

 accompanies the variety, for I have one female which is certainly normal 

 on the underside, but as certainly cor.stVa on the upper, and seems more 

 nearly to correspond to the var. bdla of Herrich-Schilfter. Unfortu- 

 nately I omitted to notice whether the type was flying in the lowlands 

 at Ajaccio. My impression, however, is that, at this season, Corsica is 

 confined to the loftier and better-watered country, occurring most plen- 

 tifully on the bracken and in other places on the hillsides. The number 

 of insects peculiar to Corsica and Sardinia is limited. It was in search 

 for one or two at least of them, that I set out on .July 13th — a cloudless 

 day — down towards Bocognano, the first station and a thriving village 

 on the Ajaccio side of the Vizzavona tunnel. The first hour or so yielded 

 next to nothing, beyond species already enumerated, but presently, 

 passing towards the arbutus zone, where the railway banks were gay 

 with the universal golden heliocrysum, matters mended somewhat. 

 Here Dri/as paphia turned up, and I was pleased to note that the 

 form approached the var. innnacidata (ananjyra), some females being 

 entirely devoid of the underside silver- wash. A backhander at a 



