April, 1908.] 73 



Aii attempt to reach the primaeval forest high on the mountains 

 to the north of Caracas was a disastrous failnre. We climbed on 

 horseback up the once fine road to La Guaira ; its cobble paving is 

 fast disappearing, and the road itself much cut away by impetuous 

 water-courses now left free to worl< their wild will, since the railway 

 built by English engineers has given the Venezuelans an excuse for 

 not repairing the old Royal Road. We went up and up, but no signs 

 of forest appeared. Meanwhile threatening clouds came down the 

 mountain, as if to meet us ; the guide took us a turning towards the 

 West and proudly showed, what he thought much better than any 

 forest- a somewhat miserable nursery gard en ! We lunched in glo<>m 

 at about 5000 feet, and then the rain began. There was nothing for 

 it but to hurry down again, and we reached Caracas to find the streets 

 in the suburbs rushing rivers and ourselves like drowned rats. 

 Bt\g: — Phyciodes anieta, Hew., one ; Eupfychia pharella, Butl., one ; 

 E. Jiermes, Fabr., one ; Terias phiale, Cram., a male ; Sphcenoyona 

 arbela, Hiibn., a female of the usual yellow form, and five specimens 

 of the elegant Oressinoma typhla,~Db\. and H.,a delicate Saty rid with 

 a broad white stripe across both wings, which often flies when the 

 sun is not shining. 



When climbing up the old La Guaira road I had noticed 

 a wooded gorge far below on my right hand and took an early 

 opportunity to investigate it. It proved to be a waterworks con- 

 servation and w : as partly enclosed. The collecting ground may be 

 said to be from o500 to 3700 ft. above sea-level. The shaded path 

 was just the place for Satyrines, which were fairly numerous, being 

 represented by Euptychia saturnus, Butl., three, a species that I did 

 not find elsewhere; E. Jiermes, Fabr. (camerta, Cram.), five; E. 

 pharella, Butl., three ; and Oressinoma typhla, Dbl. and H., three, one 

 of them very small. 



Nymphalines w-ere quite unusually scarce, the only species cap- 

 tured were Phyciodes lelex, Bates, and P. anieta, Hew. The sole 

 Lycsenid was Polyniphe dumenilii, Godt. No Papilio was taken. 



Of the Pierines, those taken were Pseudopieris nehemia, Boisd., 

 six males and a female ; Sphcenoyona arbela, Hiibn., a male of the 

 usual yellow form ; also three males of Terias phiale, Cram , one of 

 them an aberration having more black than usual on the hind-wing 

 and but little yellow. 



Heliconius was poorly represented by a single charithonia, Linn., 

 bnt the Ithomiines were more numerous, and included Ithomia 



G 



