52 PARA. Cuap. III. 
the most anomalous forms amongst Coleopterous insects are those 
which live solely in the nests of ants, and it is curious that an abnormal 
form of snakes should also be found in the society of these insects. 
The neighbourhood of Para is rich in insects. I do not speak of the 
quantity of individuals, which is probably less than one meets with, 
excepting ants and Termites, in summer days in temperate latitudes ; 
but the variety, or in other words, the number of species, is very great. 
It will convey some idea of the diversity of butterflies when I mention 
that about 700 species of that tribe are found within an hour’s walk of 
the town; whilst the total number found in the British Islands does not 
exceed 66, and the whole of Europe supports only 390. Some of the 
most showy species, such as the swallow-tailed kinds, Papilio Polycaon, 
Thoas, Torquatus, and others, are seen flying about the streets and 
gardens ; sometimes they come through the open windows, attracted by 
flowers in the apartments. ‘Those species of Papilio which are most 
characteristic of the country, so conspicuous in their velvety-black, 
green, and rose-coloured hues, which Linnzeus, in pursuance of his 
elegant system of nomenclature,—naming the different kinds after the 
heroes of Greek mythology,—called Trojans, never leave the shades 
of the forest. The splendid metallic blue morphos, some of which 
measure seven inches in expanse, are generally confined to the shady 
alleys of the forest. They sometimes come forth into the broad sunlight. 
When we first went to look at our new residence in Nazareth, a Morpho 
Menelaus, one of the most beautiful kinds, was seen flapping its huge 
wings like a bird along the verandah. ‘This species, however, although 
much admired, looks dull in colour by the side of its congener, the 
Morpho Rhetenor, whose wings, on the upper face, are of quite a 
dazzling lustre. Rhetenor usually prefers the broad sunny roads in the 
forest, and is an almost unattainable prize, on account of its lofty flight; for 
it very rarely descends nearer the ground than about twenty feet. When 
it comes sailing along, it occasionally flaps its wings, and then the blue 
surface flashes in the sunlight, so that it is visible a quarter of a mile 
off. There is another species of this genus, of a satiny-white hue, the 
Morpho Eugenia: this is equally difficult to obtain ; the male only has 
the satiny lustre, the female being of a pale-lavender colour. It is in 
the height of the dry season that the greatest number and variety of butter- 
flies are found in the woods; especially when a shower falls at intervals 
of a few days. An infinite number of curious and rare species may 
then be taken, most diversified in habits, mode of flight, colours and 
markings : some yellow, others bright red, green, purple, and blue, and 
many bordered or spangled with metallic lines and spots of a silvery 
or golden lustre. Some have wings transparent as glass ; one of these 
clear-wings is especially beautiful—namely, the Hetaira Esmeralda ; it 
has one spot only of opaque colouring on its wings, which is of a violet 
and rose hue ; this is the only part visible when the insect is flying low 
over dead leaves, in the gloomy shades where alone it is found, and it 
then looks like a wandering petal of a flower. 
Moths are also of great variety at Para; but most of them are diurnal 
in their time of flight, and keep company with the butterflies. I never 
