1 86 A YEAR OF COSTA RICAN NATURAL HISTORY 



shade, while at Quebrada Honda, on August i, another 

 species {B. rapax crocosema) was active in bright unshaded 

 sunshine. 



At three places along the Naranjo, above, at and be- 

 low the laguna, at altitudes of 3500, 3300 and 2500 feet, 

 respectively, we found in August dead-white plaster-like 

 disks 18 mm. in diameter, which were attached to the surfaces 

 of rocks or trees a few inches to three feet above the water's 

 surface. Each disk consisted of hundreds of elongated 

 eggs, in contact with each other on their long sides; one 

 end of each egg was applied to the rock or tree-trunk while 

 the free ends were coated over with a layer of the white 

 substance, which served as a protection. We brought one 

 or two of these egg-disks into our cabin and to Cartago, 

 but the eggs hatched and the larvae died before we knew — 

 owing probably to the absence of the water into which they 

 would have fallen under normal conditions. These eggs were 

 laid by one of the Sialidse and belong to the same genus 

 {Corydalis) as the "hellgrammite fly" of the United States. 

 It was possibly C. crassicornis, which we took around the 

 electric lights in the Cartago streets in May. 



In May brightly colored butterflies of the tropical Ameri- 

 can groups Heliconidae and the genus AncBa were visiting 

 the flowers on the roadside bushes. In March the whole 

 road was redolent with a faint sweet perfume, suggesting 

 both vanilla and mignonette, produced by a white-blossomed 

 Verbenaceous shrub {Lippia myriocephala) ten to fifteen 

 feet high. At this time the roadside was bordered with 

 Santa Lucia of varying shades of blue, with what appeared 

 to be a white-flowered Ageratum which was always taller 

 than the other (three to four feet as compared with one to 

 two feet), and another white-flowered composite with 

 flowers resembling the Ageratums but with alternate leaves. 



About half an hour's easy climb up this road brought one 



