NOTES ON THE BUTTERFLIES OF SICILY. 5 



Palermo, tbrough a port-Lole of the ' Cristofero Colombo,' and 

 thought, as I looked out, of all the little sleeping insects 

 dispersed over those mountains, as yet innocent of the hand of 

 the spoiler. But as I particularly desired to obtain specimens 

 of the genus Melanargia, for which I knew Sicily was most 

 famous, and being aware of their local habits, before com- 

 mencing to work the neighbourhood I thought I might as well 

 allow my head to save my heels ; so, having discovered that 

 Siguor Enrico Eagusa, whose writings on the entomology of 

 Sicily I had been reading with much interest during the winter 

 months in England, was no other than the proprietor of the 

 Grand Hotel des Palmes, I lost no time in repairing thither. 

 His reply to my question as to the best locality for M. pherma 

 was, "You'll have to look sharp; the time to take fresh speci- 

 mens of the phenisa is generally the end of April or quite the 

 beginning of May!" adding, however, that as this was a late 

 season I might find it at the foot of Monte Cuccio, distant about 

 four or five miles from Palermo. 



The next day I was there ; but it seemed a long walk from 

 Bocco di Falco, and I had begun to despair, more especially as "il 

 tempo faceva un po' brutto ! " and the sunshine was becoming more 

 and more dim every minute. At last, when I had ascended a 

 short distance up from the foot of the highest peak of Monte 

 Cuccio, I suddenly saw, blown by the wind, one solitary speci- 

 men of the butterfly for which I was on the look-out. There 

 was no mistaking it, and, in spite of the unpropitious foothold 

 on the sloping sides of the mountain, covered with loose stones, 

 I at once gave chase, trembling with excitement, and slipping 

 and falling more than once. But the i:)herusa was fast getting 

 the best of it ; flying with the wind, it seemed to have no 

 intention of settling, or of doubling in its rapid flight. My 

 heart sank within me, when, lo ! there was another, and yet 

 another ! I then found that this wanderer, though itself now 

 quite lost to sight, had guided me to the spot where several of its 

 companions soon fell an easy prey to my net. In spite of the 

 strong wind and the misty sunshine, they were out on the wing, 

 and not at all difficult to take, as they had a great predilection 

 for settling on a kind of dwarf thistle, which grew there in some 

 abundance. 



After three days' collecting, between the dates of May 12th 

 and 18th, inclusive, I had succeeded in taking over sixty speci- 

 mens, nearly all in perfect condition, but out of which^ only 

 thirteen were females ; and six males and one female distinctly 

 belonging to the variety plesaura, though several other male 

 specimens approached it very nearly. 



I scarcely ever saw this butterfly other than in this one 

 locality, where it was extremely plentiful. And though the walk 

 from Bocco di Falco to San Martino was perhaps more beautiful 



