CHAPTER VII 
Climate of the north-eastern side of Nicaragua—Excursions around 
Santo Domingo—The Artigua—Corruption of ancient names— 
Butterflies, spiders, and wasps—Humming-birds, beetles, and ants 
—Plants and trees—Timber—Monkey attacked by eagle—White- 
faced monkey—Anecdotes of a tame one—Curassows and other 
game birds—Trogons, woodpeckers, mot-mots, and toucans. 
THE climate of Santo Domingo and of the whole north- 
eastern side of Nicaragua is a very damp one. The rains 
set in in May, and continue with occasional intermission 
until the following January, when the dry season of a little 
more than three months begins. Even during the short- 
lived summer there are occasional rains, so that although 
the roads dry up, vegetation never does, the ground in the 
woods is ever moist, and the brooks perennial. In the shady 
forest, mosquitoes and sand-flies are rather troublesome; 
but the large cleared space about the houses of the mining 
company is almost free from them, and in the beautiful light 
evenings one can sit under the verandahs undisturbed, 
watching the play of the moonbeams on the silky leaves of 
the bananas, the twinkling north star just peeping over the 
range in front, with “ Charlie’s Wain” in the upper half of 
its endless circlings, whilst in the opposite direction the eye 
rests on the beautiful constellations of the southern hemi- 
sphere. On the darkest nights innumerable fire-flies flash 
their intermittent lights as they pass amongst the low bushes 
or herbage, making another twinkling firmament on earth. 
On other evenings, sitting inside with lighted candles and 
wide opened doors,.great bats flap inside, make a round of 
the apartment, and pass out again, whilst iris-winged moths, 
attracted by the light, flit about the ceiling, or long-horned 
beetles flop down on the table. In this way I made my first 
acquaintance with many entomological rarities.1 
1In moths, numerous fine Sphingide and Bombycide; and in 
beetles, amongst many others, the rare Xestia nitida (Bates) and. 
Hexoplon albipenne (Bates) were first described from these evening. 
captures. 
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