a fortnight's COLLECTING IN SICILY. 133 



final mounting, as it is more transparent than " coaguline," 

 although it does not dry so quickly. 



Tedious as this process may appear in description, it is in 

 practice simple and expeditious. By means of it this spring I 

 have set Nepticula microtheriella, N. septembrella, N. viscerella, 

 N. marginicolella, N. catharticella, &c, Cemiostoma labiirnella, 

 many species of Lithocolletis, Micropteryx, Argyresthia, &c, all 

 of which will bear comparison with the best of those set in the 

 usual manner. During the season a more extended use will be 

 made of the system ; in the meantime I shall be happy to render 

 any assistance to those who may consider the process worth a trial. 



21, Fleming Road, Lorrimore Square, S.E., May 8, 1884. 



A FORTNIGHT'S COLLECTING IN SICILY. 

 By J. H. Leech. 



It may interest some of the collectors of European insects to 

 hear the results of my short sojourn in Sicily. I arrived at the 

 end of March under rather unfavourable circumstances, the 

 weather being extremely windy and by no means as warm as I 

 had been led to expect. The landlord of the " Hotel des Palmes," 

 M. Envier Kagusa, is an enthusiastic entomologist, and showed 

 me with just pride his excellent Sicilian collection. In his 

 natural love for his native fauna he pointed out Sicilian 

 specimens of Vanessa io with as much pride as an Englishman 

 would a British Vanessa antiopa. 



The Sicilian fauna corresponds in many ways to our British 

 on account of its insular character, many species which are 

 quite common in Italy being either entirely absent or extremely 

 rare, and insects also occurring there found nowhere else, for 

 instance, Melanargia phcrusa, and many others both among the 

 Lepidoptera, the Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera. 



The island has also many species in common with Sardinia 

 and Corsica, as the curious Apochima flabellaria , and, like those 

 islands, does not contain a single species of Erebia, although 

 having high mountains and an extensive alpine fauna. However, 

 it is extremely rich in new forms, and, if well worked, would be 

 certain to produce abundance of novelties, especially among the 

 Micro-Lepidoptera and the Hymenoptera. The latter, by the 

 way, are being energetically sought out by a Mr, de Steffanie, 



