A month's collecting in HUNGARY. 57 



much worn, and there were only very few which could be con- 

 sidered worthy of cabinet rank ; here also I took a few fresh 

 M. cinxia, smaller and darker than my specimens from the 

 Eiviera or Digue, while E. cardamines and Nisoniades tages 

 were both common. On the way home two Erynnis alcea were 

 taken off the path near the farmhouse, and a few minutes after- 

 wards, when I had almost despaired of seeing it, I captured two 

 C. thersamon, both males in perfect condition. The following 

 day, on the same marshes, I found C. thersamon common, but 

 local, and was able to take a nice series of this lovely "copper." 

 They were very fond of sitting on the white composite flowers of 

 a plant which grew somewhat abundantly by the side of the 

 path, and this was a very convenient habit, as it prevented the 

 necessity of going into the standing hay after them ; when 

 sitting with expanded wings to get all the heat from the rays of 

 the afternoon sun they are a beautiful object, and one is easily 

 able to pick out the good specimens and leave the others ; the 

 females were scarce and I did not get more than three or four. 

 Several other species were taken which I had not noticed the 

 previous day ; R. argus {(egon) was becoming plentiful, and 

 several fresh Loweia dorilis males were netted. In Promontor 

 Wood a very fine dark form of Pararge mcera was frequent ; this 

 variety was so much like a large P. hiera that I at first mistook 

 it for that species. P. podalirius and P. machaon were both 

 rather common, and single specimens of newly emerged Aporia 

 cratcegi ; two very fine large male P. baton, and a few Pontia dapli- 

 dice occurred ; while a pair of fresh Melittea trivia were secured 

 at the wood. Of the latter species I had hoped to have secured 

 a series on the Schwabenburg, but never saw more than one or 

 two specimens on any of the three days I visited that locality. 



The best place near Budapest for M. trivia is Csepel, which is 

 a large island in the Danube, a short distance south of the city, 

 which I visited on the afternoon of the 24th, as I was anxious to 

 secure a series of this species. After walking through the village 

 towards the south end of the island for a couple of miles, one 

 comes to a large stretch of virgin forest, which covers the whole 

 of this end of the island ; it is mostly composed of small oaks, 

 dwarf poplars, and thick juniper scrub planted on numerous 

 sandhills, the open spaces and glades between them being 

 covered with rushes, coarse grass, and flowering-plants growing 

 very luxuriantly. The soil is very sandy, in fact the conditions 

 here are almost exactly the same as in the forest at Peszer ; 

 and probably both localities are untouched remains of the vast 

 primeval forest which in bygone ages stretched for miles over 

 this part of South-eastern Europe. Like Peszer, also, this end 

 of Csepel Island is an extremely prolific locality for butterflies, 

 and I found several species very abundant. 



(To be continued.) 

 ENTOM. FEBRUARY, 1913. F 



