BUTTERFLIES COLLECTED IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA. 277 



March, 1900, I began my return journey to the coast, and com- 

 menced then to work more seriously. Had I known earlier in 

 my career how easily butterflies are sent home, and in what 

 good condition they arrive, I should have sent many thousands 

 more than I did. As it was, I waited until I could bring 

 them to the coast personally, fearing to trust the fruits of so 

 much labour to the tender mercies of the various savages through 

 whose hands they would have to pass. 



Through Unyoro I collected a fair number, in the swamps, of 

 the Nymphalidse and Acrseid^e, and on entering Uganda proper, 

 the wooded dells, fringed with swamps, afforded opportunities 

 for considerably increasing the collection, especially amongst the 

 Hesperidse. During the evening and at night it was my custom 

 to sit with one end of my tent open, and two lights burning. As 

 the moths came towards and around the light, I watched my 

 opportunity, and directly tliey were stationary I pressed them to 

 death with the handle of a spoon or fork, having no killing- 

 bottle. I found this possible without doing any appreciable 

 damage to the scales of the specimens, I thus got all the 

 Hesperidae and Noctuidte in the collection. 



All the wooded shores of the Victoria Nyanza are admirable 

 hunting-fields, and I have seldom seen such a sight as the 

 butterflies on the shore opposite Lubwa, where an arm of the 

 lake forms an exit for the old river Nile. The steep hill over- 

 looking an exquisite view was ablaze with their colours, and I 

 stood for many hours netting as hard as I could. 



Passing through Usoga and Kavirondo, I encountered a 

 famine, where dead bodies of natives and animals lay at frequent 

 intervals in the pathway. Over these hideous objects beautiful 

 butterflies hovered, and it seems strange that nature should give 

 such repulsive food to perfect works of her art. Then I came to 

 the great primaeval forest of Nandi, and within its depths the 

 species of Charaxes seek the many putrefactions which are 

 always to be found amongst trees and damp heat. As they 

 shake and quiver over some filthy morsel they gradually make 

 themselves drunk, and fall easy victims to the collector. Some 

 enthusiasts hang up putrid meat and carcases to attract these 

 foul feeders, but if forest is near this is unnecessary. It is prac- 

 tically the only way to catch all those butterflies that have a 

 strong flight. 



And so I finally got to the train and reached the coast. 

 I could not take the collection home myself, as I had to hurry 

 off to the war ; but I carefully put the specimens in paper 

 "envelopes," these into biscuit tins, and these again into air- 

 tight tin uniform cases, with plenty of naphthaline, and packed 

 them oft' by sea to England, where they arrived in a most satis- 

 factory state. — C. A. Sykes, Capt. R.H.A.] 



