1895.] 45 



lacking in the (J. The upper-surface of both ^ and ? is of the same 

 cream-white tint, with black apical patches on the fore-wings. The 

 insect measures about three inches across. I have not bred these 

 myself, but Mrs. Holt- White says the larvae are great victims to an 

 Ichneumon fly. 



There is an allied species to the above, namely, P. WoUastoni, 

 which was catalogued as Canarian for the first time by Mrs. Holt- 

 White. The authoress caught some specimens in Tenerife, at an 

 altitude of about 500 feet above the sea. 



The other butterfly peculiar to Tenerife, Lyccena Webhianus,-^\i\Q}a. 

 is found among the Erica arhorea, Ci/tisus, and Adenocarpus viscosus, 

 is locally known among collectors in Tenerife as " the peak blue," as 

 it is found in great numbers on the Caiiadas, and I myself have captured 

 specimens there, the insect being very numerous, and even settling on 

 our hands and clothes. It is also found in " barrancas," or ravines, 

 on the south of the island, and my colleague, Mr. H. Mardly Douglas, 

 netted two specimens near the Mercedes Wood, La Laguna, July 8th 

 of this year. They are now in my cabinet. 



This insect is well described by Mrs. Holt-White, pp. 39 — 40, and 

 on plate i, figs. 7 and 8, one illustrated the (J upper-side and $ under- 

 side. The ? is of a browner colour on the upper-surface than the (^ , 

 the ^ being a bright, iridescent blue. 



In my next paper I propose to point out the chief points of 

 divarication between examples of those species which are common to 

 Tenerife and to England. 



Salamanca, Santa Cruz, Tenerife : 

 December, 189 i. 



KELAXING AND SETTING INSECTS. 

 BY W. FARREN, F.E.S. 



During the last three months I have relaxed and set more than 1000 moths, 

 and my experiences may be of interest. I started with an idea that the orthodox 

 method of leaving the specimens in a closed vessel containing wet sand was not 

 altogether satisfactory, and having in mind a suggestion made by my father some 

 years ago, that a fine jet of steam applied to the under-surface, at the junction of 

 the wings with the thorax, would be a good method of relaxing large specimens, I 

 had a finely bored gas-fitter's blowpipe soldered into the lid of a small saucepan, 

 making a miniature steam kettle. I found it necessary to have the lid of the 

 saucepan soldered all round, and a small hole with a screw cap, made for putting in 

 the water, as the steam escaped so freely from the lid as to prevent its coming 

 through the fine hole of the blowpipe. 



