1900.] INSECTS A?fD ARACHIVIDS FKOM SOMALILAND. 5 



and the Moths are very local. The latt-er were nearly all 

 collected on the banks of' river-beds where there were trees, long 

 grass, and undergrowth. The Beetles, on the other band, simply 

 swarmed, and there was also uo lack of Orthoptera, Chilopoda, 

 Diplopoda, Arachnida, &c. 



On April 20th, 1S95, 1 started from Berbera, the coast town of 

 Somaliland, wending my way south-west along the maritime plain 

 to Hargaisa. Insect-life was by no means ])lentiful in this hot 

 parched-up desert country, but birds were numerous by the sides 

 of the dried-up river-beds. 



Hargaisa is a peruianent Somali village on a gentle slope, over- 

 looking a river-bed. There was luxuriant undergrowth and a 

 few trees. Tnsect-life was consequently moi*e plentiful, and I 

 collected my first butterflies and moths here. Of the latter, the 

 large species Cyllogramma latona Cr. and Sphinr/omorpha clilorea 

 Cr. came to my lantern in great quantities at night. After 

 leaving Hargaisa, I went south across the great waterless Hand 

 District, through detise thorn-bush jungle. Kn route we suddenly 

 emerged upon the Bun Saylah, a large open plain literally covered 

 with game, notably Oryx, Harteheest. Scemmerring's Gazelle, and 

 Ostriches. It took us a day to cross this, and then we entered dense 

 jungle again. All this time I did but little insect-collecting, as, 

 owing to the scarcity of water, I was always on the quick march. 

 At Sassabanah we encountered water in deep wells and under the 

 surface of a river-bed, the Webbi Jerrar. Here I collected some 

 of the ticks described. Thence I marched to the Boorgha Country, 

 and passed the everlasting red sand, entering a stony, hilly district. 

 In this latter, Orthoptera were very numerous. I went as far 

 as Mount Kuldush, marching along the Webbi Shebeyli, the great 

 river of Somaliland. 



The banks of this riv^er were lined « ith trees and dense jungle, 

 and butterflies and other insects were very abundant. Being 

 unable to find a path for the camels down to the river-edge, and as 

 I was running short of food, and many of my men had fever, I 

 retraced my steps at the end of June. I followed the Sule Kiver 

 for a long way and reached Bun Jijjiga, a gigantic plain at the 

 foot of the Harah Hills. Here I fell in uith Abyssinians, who, 

 however, behaved most cordially. Game was extremely abundant 

 on this plain; but insects were somewhat scarce except at Whardi 

 Datal, where there was long grass, in which Orthoptera simply 

 swarmed. After leaving the plain I traversed thick jungle until 

 reaching Hargaisa, where 1 rested to take up water before recrossing 

 the great maritime plain called Gubau (the hot country). 



During this latter journey I came across a small herd of the 

 Somali Wild Ass (Equus son i aliens), and passed through a dense 

 locust-cloud, which darkened the sun for hours and looked like a 

 great fall of snow, the air being white with them. After a very 

 exhausting march through this desert, where w e encounted terrific 

 dust-storms every day, we finally returned to Berbeia and the coast. 



