April, 1908.3 , 79 
An attempt to reach the primeval forest high on the mountains 
to the north of Cardeas was a disastrous failure. We climbed on 
horseback up the once fine road to La Guaira; its cobble paving is 
fast disappearing, and the road itself much cut away by impetuous 
water-courses now left free to work their wild will, since the railway 
built by English engineers has given the Venezuelans an excuse for 
not repairing the old Royal Road. We went up and up, but no signs 
of forest appeared. Meanwhile threatening clouds came down the 
mountain, as if to meet us; the guide took us a turning towards the 
West and proudly showed, what he thought much better than any 
forest— a somewhat miserable nursery garden! We lunched in gloom 
at about 5000 feet, and then the rain began. There was nothing for 
it but to hurry down again, and we reached Caracas to find the streets 
in the suburbs rushing rivers and ourselves like drowned rats. 
Bag :— Phyciodes anieta, Hew., one; Euptychia pharella, Butl., one ; 
E. hermes, Fabr., one; Terias phiale, Cram., a male; Sphenogona 
arbela, Hiibn., a female of the usual yellow form, and five specimens 
of the elegant Oressinoma typhla, Dbl. and H., a delicate Satyrid with 
a broad white stripe across both wings, which often flies when the 
sun is not shining. 
When climbing up the old La Guaira road I had_ noticed 
a wooded gorge far below on my right hand and took an early 
opportunity to investigate it. It proved to be a waterworks con- 
servation and was partly enclosed. The collecting ground may be 
said to be from 3500 to 3700 ft. above sea-level. The shaded path 
was just the place for Satyrines, which were fairly numerous, being 
represented by Huptychia saturnus, Butl., three, a species that I did 
not find elsewhere; H. hermes, Fabr. (camerta, Cram.), five; E. 
pharella, Butl., three ; and Oresstnoma typhla, Dbl. and H., three, one 
of them very small. 
Nymphalines were quite unusually scarce, the only species cap- 
tured were Phyciodes lelex, Bates, and P. anieta, Hew. The sole 
Lycenid was Polyniphe dumenilii, Godt. No Papilio was taken. 
Of the Pierines, those taken were Pseudopieris nehemia, Boisd., 
six males and a female; Sphenogona arbela, Hiibn., a male of the 
usual yellow form ; also three males of Terias phiale, Cram., one of 
them an aberration having more black than usual on the hind-wing 
and but little yellow. 
Heliconius was poorly represented by a single charithonia, Linn., 
bunt the Ithomiines were more numerous, and included Ithomia 
