6 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Mr. Gooch also objects to my statement that I had captured 

 several new species. I am fully aware that Mr. Gooch had 

 personal acquaintance with the Lepidoptera of this colony for 

 five years, and during that time had only met with one new 

 species of butterfly, NciJtis Goochii ; and therefore it was quite 

 natural that he should have regarded my statement with a 

 certain amount of doubt ; but, nevertheless, the fact remains 

 that I have taken some half a dozen species utterly unknown to 

 Colonel Bowker or any Natal entomologist, and which are not 

 included in Trimen's list. It must be remembered that the 

 whole European population of Natal amounts to only 20,000, 

 and that amongst such a sparse population entomologists would 

 be few and far between. With the exception of Colonel Bowker 

 and myself, and two or three "butterfly-catchers," there are at 

 present no other entomologists in the colony ; consequently it is 

 not surprising I should meet with species not yet taken by other 

 collectors. I may instance a lovely canary-coloured Pic/'?s, which 

 I met with frequently in the woods on the Zululand border, and 

 from the occurrence in the same place of many rare species, 

 such as Amauris Dominicanus, Pieris Saba, Eronia Argyia, 

 E. Buquetii, Anthocharis Antigone, &c., I infer that there they 

 reach about their southernmost limit. 



Mr. Gooch refers to a butterfly as stated to be found at the 

 Inanda Hills, and which he believes to be a "myth." His 

 informant, Mr. Macken, was shown this butterfly by the same 

 resident at the Inanda (Mr. Wood), who mentioned the circum- 

 stance to me. I therefore went in search of it, and found it to 

 be a splendid large butterfly, although not so "gigantic" as 

 Mr. Gooch was informed. In 1879 I met with a few, but this 

 past April I hunted it well in its very limited locality, and 

 returned with a splendid long series. It expands about three or 

 four inches, and has been named Debts Indosa. 



Respecting the moths of Natal I found the best way to secure 

 numbers was by light. After the spring rains I generally begin, 

 for with the renewal of vegetation appear vast numbers of insects. 

 My house is situated in the " bush," or rather it has about twenty 

 acres of bushland surrounding it. Several large lamps are placed 

 on a table by a window, the room is cleared of furniture, the 

 windows thrown up, and the lamps left burning until daybreak. 

 When I began this plan of capturing insects I was simply in a 



