192 [August, 



was spent by me in searching likely-looking plants for its larva, but 

 without success. In the same locality I met with the handsome P. 

 Amyntor, Bclv., but it was very scarce ; this species is a slow and 

 heavy flyer, and prefers the most shady places, having, when on the 

 wing, a strong resemblance to a large ? Hypolimnas Bolina, L. The 

 last-named species was very common, and the ¥ 's were large and 

 fine, but not very variable, resembling closely the dark and well- 

 marked form I used to take at Port Darwin, N. Australia. I saw r in 

 the Museum what is probably a wet-season form of the ? 

 (H. pulchra, Butl.) with the ground colour of the wings almost en- 

 tirely bright fulvous-red, but this J could not meet with. The 

 Australian representative of the widely-spread Danais Ohrysippus 

 (-D. petilia, Stoll.) was common enough in dry waste places, along 

 with a bright-looking form of Junonia vellida, F., and the much- 

 wandering Anosia Plexippus, F., with its equally travelled food-plant, 

 the Asclepias curassavica, have both long ago found their way to 

 New Caledonia, and become completely naturalized and abundant. 

 A very neat and handsome hlack and white Enploea, allied to the 

 Australian E. Corinna, &c., was fairly common in shady paths, where 

 also Tachyris Ega, Bdv., was often met with, flying very sharply and 

 settling abruptly on the under-side of leaves. One or two species of 

 Terias, and the pretty and active little black and white Elodina signata, 

 Wall., were not uncommon, but by far the most abundant butterfly 

 was Belenois peristhene, Bdv., conspicuous, in the dry season form at 

 any rale, by its almost entirely black under-side. Several Lycesnidce, 

 including our Lampides bcetica, L., but none of them at all remarkable, 

 and oue or two fairly large Hesperiidte, complete the list of butterflies 

 met with by me. Deiopeia pulchella, L., was the commonest moth 

 observed. 



Coleoptera were on the whole exceedingly scarce, and I did not 

 come across a single really handsome or conspicuous species. Hardly 

 anything was to be obtained by sweeping or beating, but a few 

 Garabidce and Heteromera were found under stones and pieces of wood, 

 as well as on the sea-beach at A use Vata. In roadside puddles I met 

 with our familiar water-beetle, Rhantus pulverosus, Steph., and another 

 well-known " Britisher," Aphodius lividus, 01., was the most common, 

 and indeed, almost the only beetle to be found in dung. Decaying 

 trees and old rotten posts yielded some interesting little Cossonides, 

 Colydiidce, Heteromera, &c. ; but my best find was a large prostrate 

 tree (a species of Ficus) near the racecourse. Out of this tree, after 

 a tremendous fight with the mosquitoes, I got at least 30 species of 



