325 



thus expanded, allowing them no room for motion. Instead of em- 

 ploying their sunny hours in sipping sweets, and — 



" Gathering honey all the day 

 From every opening flow'r," — 



their delight was to extract the juices of each swamp-hole, and the 

 filthier the puddle the more it seemed adapted to their taste. Herds 

 of swine are brought to pasture on the borders of the forest, and it was 

 their droppings that seemed to supply the purple emperor with the 

 choicest feast. Seating myself near one of these I selected the finest 

 specimens as they settled down, and watched them till they closed 

 their wings ; and so intent were they upon their occupation, that they 

 would usually pei-mit me to take them between my finger and thumb. 

 They were so numerous that I had no less than seven under a small 

 net at one time, and even then they showed but little anxiety to get 

 away. Amongst them were several with more of red than purple in 

 their upper wings, but I believe these were only varieties. 1 was sur- 

 prised to meet with so few butterflies at this distance from home that 

 were not familiar well-known friends : ten species only, and these 

 iDclude Papilio Podalirius and Hipparchia Arcanius ; for I would with 

 you expunge from our list every species that bears not upon the face 

 of it an affidavit of its native land. The White Admirable, so justly 

 noted for its graceful flight, was there in great beauty and abundance ; 

 whilst the Queen of Spain Fritillary and the Arion Blue were not un- 

 common. Upon a grassy bank of very limited extent in the centre of 

 the forest, I saw thirty-five species of our British butterflies. Con- 

 trasting what I saw of the Entomology of this district with our own, 

 and I speak from the experience of a second summer, I was surprised 

 at the comparative paucity of insects generally, except the butterflies. 

 I was not out at night, but during the day I found very few of the 

 Noctuge in their usual resting places, and Geometridae were scarce. 

 Coleoptera were nowhere numerous, and the only conspicuous beetle 

 which I saw often was Carabus auratus, and it would frequently cross 

 my path, glittering in the noon-day sunshine. The beautiful flies of 

 the genus Anthrax were very abundant, and of these I took several 

 species. I again spent the same months of 1841 at Kissengen, and 

 w\as sadly disappointed, when the weather would permit me to visit 

 ray former haunts, to find them deserted by most of the more brilhant 

 butterflies ; indeed, so wet was the season, that the Purple Emperor, 

 the White Admirable, and many others, never appeared at all. — IVil- 

 liam C. Hewitson ; 8, Alfred Place, Kingsdowri, Bristol, April 22, 

 1842. 



