﻿A 
  Migration 
  of 
  Yellow 
  Butterflies 
  in 
  Trinidad. 
  87 
  

  

  resting 
  in 
  large 
  patches 
  on 
  the 
  roads. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  records 
  

   from 
  the 
  south-eastern 
  portion 
  of 
  the 
  island 
  are 
  of 
  such 
  

   patches 
  disturbed 
  by 
  passing 
  cars. 
  The 
  groups 
  may 
  con- 
  

   tain 
  from 
  a 
  hundred 
  or 
  less 
  to 
  several 
  thousand 
  individuals, 
  

   and 
  are 
  described 
  in 
  some 
  records 
  as 
  appearing 
  in 
  the 
  

   distance 
  like 
  large 
  patches 
  of 
  yellow-green 
  grass. 
  

  

  The 
  butterflies 
  are 
  sometimes 
  congregated 
  round 
  moist 
  

   patches 
  on 
  the 
  road, 
  but 
  in 
  other 
  cases 
  the 
  spots 
  they 
  have 
  

   chosen 
  do 
  not 
  appear 
  on 
  casual 
  observation 
  to 
  differ 
  in 
  any 
  

   way 
  from 
  the 
  rest 
  of 
  the 
  road. 
  It 
  may 
  be 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  only 
  

   the 
  gregarious 
  habit 
  of 
  the 
  butterfly 
  that 
  has 
  led 
  them 
  to 
  

   congregate, 
  but 
  it 
  is 
  more 
  likely 
  that 
  the 
  patches 
  chosen 
  

   are 
  where 
  urine 
  from 
  animals 
  passing 
  along 
  the 
  road 
  has 
  

   recently 
  dried 
  up, 
  and 
  that 
  the 
  butterflies 
  are 
  obtaining 
  some 
  

   kind 
  of 
  nutriment 
  from 
  the 
  dried 
  salts 
  (in 
  this 
  connection 
  

   see 
  discussion 
  in 
  Proc. 
  Ent. 
  Soc. 
  London, 
  1917, 
  p. 
  Ixxvii). 
  

  

  Previous 
  Migrations 
  of 
  Yellow 
  Butterflies 
  in 
  

   Trinidad. 
  

  

  It 
  might 
  be 
  convenient 
  to 
  add 
  here 
  for 
  completeness 
  a 
  few 
  

   records 
  I 
  have 
  obtained 
  of 
  previous 
  migrations 
  in 
  Trinidad. 
  

   It 
  must 
  be 
  noted 
  that 
  in 
  these 
  cases 
  no 
  specimens 
  are 
  avail- 
  

   able 
  for 
  comparison, 
  so 
  that 
  it 
  cannot 
  be 
  said 
  for 
  certain 
  

   whether 
  the 
  species 
  was 
  Catopsilia 
  statira 
  or 
  Callidryas 
  

   eubule. 
  

  

  (1) 
  Mr. 
  Guy 
  Gray, 
  living 
  at 
  Matura 
  on 
  the 
  east 
  coast, 
  

   adds 
  to 
  his 
  records 
  of 
  the 
  present 
  migration 
  — 
  " 
  I 
  have 
  seen 
  

   these 
  butterflies, 
  I 
  think, 
  every 
  year, 
  but 
  not 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  

   time." 
  

  

  (2) 
  Walter 
  Potter 
  states 
  that 
  Catopsilia 
  statira 
  swarms 
  

   nearly 
  every 
  year 
  somewhere 
  in 
  the 
  Island. 
  

  

  (3) 
  Cecil 
  Rostant 
  of 
  Moruga 
  (south 
  coast) 
  in 
  reply 
  to 
  an 
  

   inquiry 
  for 
  information 
  on 
  the 
  present 
  migration 
  replied 
  

   that 
  they 
  were 
  flying 
  " 
  in 
  the 
  usual 
  direction." 
  Later 
  he 
  

   explained 
  that 
  this 
  was 
  from 
  east 
  to 
  west, 
  and 
  that 
  they 
  

   flew 
  in 
  this 
  direction 
  nearly 
  every 
  year 
  in 
  his 
  district. 
  

  

  (4) 
  W. 
  Buthn 
  of 
  the 
  Department 
  of 
  Agriculture 
  states 
  

   that 
  he 
  saw 
  small 
  numbers 
  of 
  yellow 
  butterflies 
  flying 
  

   towards 
  the 
  east 
  in 
  Port 
  of 
  Spain 
  in 
  1916 
  about 
  August. 
  

  

  (5) 
  Mr. 
  T. 
  I. 
  Potter 
  reports 
  a 
  large 
  swarm 
  of 
  probably 
  

   Catopsilia 
  statira 
  flying 
  over 
  the 
  Savannah 
  in 
  Port 
  of 
  Spain 
  

   in 
  1915 
  from 
  east 
  to 
  west. 
  They 
  were 
  not 
  so 
  common 
  as 
  

   the 
  present 
  (1918) 
  migration, 
  nor 
  did 
  they 
  last 
  so 
  long. 
  

  

  