6 THE ENTOMOLOGIST, 



very common on the grass-lands up-country, and is specially a 

 winter or late autumn butterfly. In fact, the whole of the 

 JunonicE are more strongly present in late autumn and winter 

 than in the summer. 



The typical Nymphalid is sufficiently developed in Natal in 

 Charaxes and Nymphalis to brighten up a cabinet and heighten a 

 collector's enterprise. The species which fell to my net in two 

 seasons were C. Ethalion, Brutus, Citharon, Pelias, Candiope ; 

 N. Jahlusa, Zoolina, and Neanthes. These, without exception, 

 vary, in the tails, between male and female. They are all to be 

 caught feeding on mimosa gum or sap as it exudes from the 

 stem in the hot sunlight, sometimes at distances sufficiently away 

 froni the ground to make it a matter of aggravation to the pursuer 

 that his game is quite content, despite all his challenges with bits 

 of paper, showers of sand, &c., to stop and sip the nectar, and 

 pay no attention to the mortal below. 



They stick most pertinaciously to these exudations, and some- 

 times require almost to be " poked" off. But when they do move, 

 it is so suddenly, that very often the net is quite behind, and the 

 opportunity is lost. To increase the difficult}^ of capture, this 

 exudation is most specially delightful to them when it is from the 

 bark of a rough and very thorny mimosa, which is perfect ruin to 

 nets and temper. However, exi:)erience and patience, as in every- 

 thing else, does it, and by a little attention and several trials the 

 insects can be taken with certainty, as they are very bold, and 

 return continually to the same spot, however often they may be 

 disturbed. 



The most remarkable dissimilarit}' between the sexes, which 

 is not confined to the tails, is the case of C. Ethalion, the male 

 being black and smaller than the female, wdiich is black, with 

 white bars and spots and purple blue marks on the upper sides 

 of the wings, though the under sides are nearly identical. The 

 under sides of all the Charaxes are handsome, especially Brutus 

 and Pelias, which are silver veined and very brilliant and rich. 

 C. Jahlusa also has silver marks, but in dots and splotches, like 

 our English Fritillaries. Candiope is a very handsome red-brown 

 butterfly, with bright green veins, &c. Pelias, which is very 

 local, is also red-brown, but without green veins. Candiope haunts 

 bush paths by the coast ; Pelias, mimosa scrub on hill-tops 

 inland. Ethalion loves scattered bush near grass-land. Brutus, 



