A day's ENTOMOLOGIZING IN THE PARIS ENVIRONS. 239 



and here I saw such a wealth of insect life as I have rarely seen 

 before, and probably shall never see again. Colias Tiyale flew hither 

 and thither, much disturbed by Pieris rapce and an occasional P. 

 hrassicce, and I sat down to Avateli them as I could not catch them. A 

 Ijeautiful moth hovers over a flower just near me, sucking honey from 

 the flower all the time. Wliisli I my hat has brought it down. It was, 

 as I surmised, Acontia albicoUis. I have no pins, no boxes, the moth 

 appears to be hurt but little, and off it soon goes again. Ah I there's 

 another smaller moth, and another, and yet another ! I know it of 

 old : I saw it liuzzing, and then indulging in its headlong flight less 

 than a week since at Cuxton ; it is J., luctuosa, and look ! there are 

 dozens of them. I get excited, but excitement has to cool where it 

 is governed by helplessness. Then a Crambns-looking moth drops at 

 my very feet, and as I turn to observe it, I am astonished to see the 

 well-known features of Agropliila sidphuralis, and soon I notice others. 

 I then thought I would investigate the sides of the field, and soon 

 disturbed several L. piirpuraria and Botys cinctalis. Both species were 

 in lovely condition, and the latter, which I had taken rather freel}' in 

 June in North Kent, was evidently a second brood. Cramhus culmellus 

 was the only species of the genus I could stir up, but my attention was 

 soon riveted by a large butterfly coolly sailing along, and alighting 

 within a yard of me. Yes, there could be no doubt about it ! It was 

 Papilio machaon. How different this dry region to its Fenland home 

 in England ! It took wing again, flew over a stubble field and dis- 

 appeared ; but I saw two or three others during the afternoon, although 

 I could not discover their food and was evidently not at their head- 

 <|uarters. Coenonympha pampldlus abounded, as well as the pugnacious 

 Lyccena teams, a fine large form, which I thought was a different species 

 until I caught one for satisfaction. Yes, I know that big fellow yonder ! 

 It's megiera, but Avhat's that brown individual buzzing about with 

 luctuosa ? One's hat is useless, and I crack the brim in fruitless attempts 

 to knock one down, but it was done at last. What else could it be but 

 Euclidia glyphica ? but I didn't recognise it until it was on the ground. 

 Then a strange Fanessa-looking butterfly with a conspicuous eye-spot 

 on the hind wings flits l)y followed by a large fritillary, neither of 

 which were determined. There's a " skipper ! " A Avild rush and a 

 knock with the hat hard enough to have killed ten thousand Initterflies, 

 and I've missed it : but I had my revenge on a brother of his after- 

 wards, if not on his individual self, for a vicious sweep killed him 

 outright, and I discovered it to be a s^^ecies not British. Strenki 

 dathrata swarmed, and then a stranger gets up from my feet : I follow 

 it up. Acidalia ruhricata in lovely condition, followed a few seconds 

 afterwards by Spilodes stidicnlis. This was getting exciting, especially 

 with the hot sun sweltering and frizzling one into unknowable jiro- 

 portions. I never knew how vicious a collector I was till I saw all 

 these insects and couldn't catch them. I walked on further, but found 

 no other corner like this. I crossed an occasional Colias hyale and 

 Fainlio machaon in my wanderings, and, at last, slowly turned back, as 

 visions of a 7 o'clock dinner floated before my mind. On the way 

 back my ruminations were of a mixed kind, but that I would carry 

 some of those insects back to England was the thought uppermost in 

 my mind. 



Alas for human expectations ! Eor two successive days heavy 



