IN ANDALUSIA MARCH AND APRIL, 1913. 223 



above the rest, the celebrated Vega (irrigated valley) lying at its feet. 

 The spring tints were everywhere most beautiful ; cherry and peach 

 trees were loaded with delicate blossoms which freely opened their 

 petals to the balmy air as if secure from the intrusion of rude 

 winds and frost in that sheltered spot. The ground on which we were 

 working, however, proved to be rough, stony and unproductive, and 

 goats were again much in evidence. Some AntJincharis belia and 

 Puntia ilaiilidice var. helUdice, a large proportion of which were worn, 

 were pairing and settling on a bed of very dark blue flowers of the 

 leguminous order (probably a crop of some kind), as well as on the 

 leaves of almond trees ; in both these situations they were much easier 

 to follow than when scudding through the gorges and up and down 

 the grassy slopes. A few Colias ednsa, in good order, were flying in 

 one spot, and odd specimens of Colias hyale, Scolitantides baton var. 

 panoptes, Pieris rapae, $ Polj/oiiiviatus ale.vis ab. icarux (a lovelj^ form), 

 Coenunijinplui pavipldhiK, Rniiiicia pJdaeas and Papilio iiutchaon 

 were captured. All these, even in units, are extremely interesting 

 forms. 



In the afternoon the weather broke up ; we awoke next morning to 

 find a snowstorm in progress, and cold unsettled weather continued 

 until we left, on April 4th, for Ronda, a very cold journey in an un- 

 heated train, the mountains en route all covered with snow. This did 

 not augur very well for Ronda, and, indeed, finding no hope of 

 collecting there, although the ground appeared free from goats, w^e went 

 on to Gibraltar, leaving all our apparatus at Ronda. We were greatly 

 surprised to find the Rock basking in brilliant sunshine during our 

 stay. There was, however, no collecting to be done, the only Lepi- 

 doptera seen being a few Thais mtnina, very small in comparison with 

 those from Malaga, and mostly worn, together with one or two worn 

 Pi/ranu'is cardiii and a very fresh looking Pi/raineis atalanta. The 9th 

 found us back«at Ronda, this being our last day there, as we were 

 leaving for home next morning. We had very reluctantly resigned 

 ourselves to returning with practically nothing. But the 9th was to 

 be the best day of the holiday. One felt on rising that it was to be 

 a collecting day ; the clear sky, brilliant sunshine, the balmy air 

 tempered by a cool breeze, revived our exhausted hopes ; towards the 

 forenoon, however, clouds gradually gathered, and the collecting 

 ground was in shadow for the rest of the day. On arriving at the 

 pinewood opposite Ronda, there were the Anthocharis taf/is, A. belia, 

 together with a few A. beleun'a, flying along the edge and up and down 

 the precipitous slopes, settling on lavender flowers of a very deep-blue 

 variety, or on cistus, the white flowers of which were just opening, so 

 that they were much more inconspicuous on these plants than on the 

 lavender. Standing on the top of the clift", one could net them as they 

 glided up; if missed, they generally went on and down the other 

 slope, but did not return, as did two or three worn Papilio podalirius 

 ab. feistluDiu'lii, which had a habit of whizzing past one, returning 

 again and again after being struck at and missed. As the morning 

 advanced insects were in fuller force, generally distributed over all the 

 giound. Of other species there were only a few ; a single richly-hued 

 Eitchloeeiiphenoides flitting down the face of the clift', several brilliantly- 

 coloured Gonopteryx cleopatra, one or two Callophnjs rubi, their green 

 underwings glittering in the sun, one Eiiffonia polychloros, one Thestor 



