AN ENTOMOLOGICAL TRIP TO CORSICA. 149 
shrouded in vapour and mist; but in spite of the wet it was 
very hot when we got on shore, with a close, almost tropical 
atmosphere. We engaged rooms at the Hotel de France in the 
middle of the town, as the much better and more comfortable 
Grand Hotel is closed at this time of year. By 10 o’clock the 
rain had stopped and the sun was shining brilliantly, quickly 
drying up the sopping vegetation, and we were on the war- 
path, and once again experiencing that feeling of intense excite- 
ment which always fills one when, after perchance a year’s 
interlude, one starts for one’s first walk with a butterfly net in a 
perfectly new country, where one imagines one is at once going 
to see every sort of rarity, and where every insect that comes 
along is eagerly captured and carefully examined before being 
either released or consigned to a pill-box. 
Quickly walking through the town in a_north-westerly 
direction, we came out on to some rough ground, partly culti- 
vated terraces and small fields; but everything was frightfully 
burnt up and insects were not common. A small form of 
Polyommatus icarus was rather frequent, fresh specimens of 
probably a second or third brood; and flying about amongst the 
burnt-up herbage was P. astr arche, also of rather small size but 
with the red spots large and brilliantly coloured ; these might be 
referred to as var. calida. Working round by the back of some 
villa gardens, a few Pieris brassice were noticed, but further 
along, at the foot of some dry hills, we found H’pinephele ida to be 
rather common; they were quite fresh, and are, I think, some- 
what larger than my Spanish examples. Here also Mr. Lomax 
secured a fine specimen of Tarucus telicanus, which with two or 
three rather ragged Lampides beticus were haunting the flowers of 
a small wild ‘‘ pea” (?) which rambled over the dry stony ground, 
but which further along, where a tiny spring welled up and 
where the vegetation in consequence became a little more 
luxurious, grew into quite a fine plant. A good many butterflies 
were attracted to this spot—Pararge egeria, fresh Colias edusa, 
Issoria lathonia, one or two Leptidia sinapis, and a single lovely 
Pyrameis car dui. 
The dry hillsides were in many places covered with helio- 
crysum in full blossom, making fine patches of golden colour ; 
these were attractive to a fair large form of Mpinephele jurtina 
var. hispulla, both sexes being in good order. Here also were 
P. warus, more EH. ida, and numerous HL. tithonus, with a few 
very darkly-coloured Chrysophanus phleas var. eleus; and as we 
were walking back to Ajaccio by the roadside, and flying literally 
amongst the thick white dust Pararge megera var. tigelius was 
not infrequent, though generally shabby individuals. 
The following morning, as there did not seem to be anything 
to detain us in Ajaccio, we left for Vizzavona, a journey which 
takes some four hours or more, but which is always interesting 
