1898.] ON BUTTERFLIES FROM BRITISH EAST 



[From the PROCEEDINGS OF THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIKTY OF LOXDON, 

 November 15, ls<j8.] 



On a small Collection of Butterflies from British Kast 

 Africa, obtained at the end of 1897 and beginning O f 

 1898 by Mr. R. Crawsliav. By ARTHUR (J. BUTLI: K. 

 Ph.D., F.L.S., F.Z.S.,&c. 



In a, letter addressed to me from Ivibwe/i, I7kamba, and dated 

 March 5th, 1898, Mr. Crawshay writes : 



"A hue in pencil to let you know my movements, and that I 

 am on my way to the promised land of this Protectorate at 

 least. 



" I hope you have received the few, very few, insects I sent you 

 by Wilson, of the National Bank of India in Mombasa, who was 

 kind enough to take charge of them. They are so few that I was 

 almost ashamed to send them : but, having promised, 1 did so m 

 the hope that perhaps the Skippers, or at any rate one of them. 

 would prove of interest. 



" I am now on my way to Machako's, and am camping here for 

 one day to ration rnv porters, rest them, rest myself, and rearrange 

 my loads a never-ending task ! African travel on foot is slow 

 and very irksome and at times positively exasperating, I can assure 

 you : one has so many difficulties to contend with, the eh icf perhap-- 

 being the waywardness of one's porters, and indeed of almost all 

 one's dusky followers, to say nothing of discomforts innumerable. 

 But it is intensely fascinating for all that, and I. can't tell von how 

 glad I am to get back to the old life I love so well. 



"Certainly British East Africa, and especially the Ukamba 

 Province, is more healthy than British Central Africa: one fV.-ls 

 that at every breath. 



"It is hot, very hot, but also very dry; and so one does nut 

 feel the temperature nearly so much as one would do otherwise. 



'' I took a magnificent pair of Spiders -huge thev art 1 even 

 for Africa on the dry plains S.E. of this, three days a^o. 



"Hitherto 1 have seen no four-footed game, but there is plcntv 

 ahead." 



The collection was handed over to me by Mr. AVilson, and 1 

 found it to consist of examples of '2\ species \\\(^\ of them 

 collected at Takaungu, north of Mombasa, between the l ( .);h of 

 November and 6th of December, 1SD7; the remainder having been 

 obtained at Mombasa on the l^rd January, 1S()S. 



As usual with Mr. Crawshay 's collections, the specimens are in 

 good condition, and although none of them are new to seiemv, 

 several are of interest; as, for instance, a dry-season female of 

 Ypihimapupillaris, two highly coloured males of L<icli<m ( -i\, )// ///.////*, 

 differing greatly in size, the somewhat rare white form of the female 

 of Teracolns irii]>t'>Tit<>t\ a dry-season female of '/'. ditatocifffitu, a vcrv 

 tiny and somewhat aberrant male of T. owjrftfilt', the intermediate 

 phase of the red-tipped variation of T. cn'Ji'Hfi. and two tine male* 



PROC. ZOOL. Soe. 1*9*, No. I A 



I 



