26 ["i-'iy' 



a troijical sun gleaming on the lustrous blue upper-side of the -tvings. C. Teucer 

 haunts the deep shades of the thickets, and has a provoking habit of dodging into 

 dense underwood when pursued. The under-side of a fine specimen (not often seen, 

 by the way) is really beautiful, with its delicate pencillings of ochreous and grey, 

 and its great yellow-ringed ocelli, like the eyes of an owl. A large, moth-like, orange 

 and brown insect, which I think is Dynastor Darius, comes out not rarely about 

 sunset, but flies too high to be canght : the only one I haye was bred from a huge 

 whitish and brown chrysalis, which I often met with on tree-trunks and walls, but 

 all empty, except this one. I saw hundreds at Colon, on the Atlantic side of the 

 isthmus, but all vacated by the perfect insect. A large black and white Brassolis ?, 

 five incbes in expanse, is rare. Heliconius only occurred to me as the common hut 

 handsome black and crimson H. Melpomene, and a large, yellow-streaked black 

 species : both are common. Colanis Phcerusa, a very handsome fulvous and brown 

 insect occurs in grass fields, with a pretty Junonia and Agraulis vanillce : another 

 Colcenis, almost entirely fulvous above, is common in lanes, &c. 



Several species of Phyciodes, pretty little insects related to MelU(Ea, kc, are 

 abundant among grass, as is also Anartia Fatima, a handsome black-brown butterfly 

 with a cream-coloured transverse bar and some small crimson spots. One of the 

 most beautiful and remarkable insects is a species of Ageronia, a butterfly about 2^ 

 inches in expanse, of a grey ground-colour, exquisitely marbled witli shades of 

 whitish and reddish, in a most intricate pattern. It settles on the trunks of trees 

 with the wings fully expanded, like a Boarmia, and always head downwards : when 

 approached, off it goes with great speed, making at the same time a loud and most 

 singular snapping or crackling noise, which I can best compare to the sound of a 

 slight electric spark, at intervals of one to five seconds. This sound is particularly 

 distinct when the $ is chasing the $ , and I have hoard it a distance of at least ten 

 yards : I think it is produced by both sexes. Victorhm Steneles a large and liand- 

 some butterfly, brown, with large blotches of pale leaf-green, was not uncommon, 

 but rarely found in good condition : a new brood was coming out just as I was 

 leaving. Another very showy insect, BihU/s Thadana, rich dark brown in colour, 

 with a vivid crimson sub-marginal band on the hind-wings, occurred to me only 

 singly. I found some twelve or fourteen Erycinidce, some of them handsome little 

 insects, but none of the more brilliant species fell to my share. They are funny 

 little fellows dashing about actively in the wood-paths and openings, and always 

 settling on the under-side of leaves with the wings fully extended. Theclas and 

 Polyommati were represented at the time of my visit by a few not very conspicuous 

 species : Terias, on the other hand, were most abundant, at least 8 species occurring 

 of all shades between pure white and deep orange : Callidryades, though not rare, 

 were difficult to obtain, they were so active. Indeed, I may mention that nearly all 

 the larger butterflies, at least, had to be caught on the wing : I did not meet with a 

 single attractive flower, and the insects all seemed to disdain mud, excrement, fallen 

 fruit, sap, and other traditional tropical attractions. 1 saw only four species of 

 Papilio, of which the fine but common P. Thoas was very frequent, dashing along 

 the lanes at great speed and very hard to obtain in good order : P. Polydamas was 

 not rare in the more open places, and a lovely species (either P. Erythalion or Ver- 

 tumnus), velvety-black, the <? having a large green blotch on the fore-wings, and a 

 carmine blotch on the hinder pair, tliese blotches in the ? being respectively white 



