150 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



because of the gradual ascent from the hot low plains and hills, 

 fragrant with the scent of endless sweet-smelling herbs, through 

 the dense " maquis," which is the Corsican name for the thick, 

 in many i)laces almost impenetrable, bush which covers all the 

 hillsides up to about 2000 ft., and which is composed of arbutus, 

 Mediterranean heath, and myrtle scrub, leaving which the line 

 goes through woods of splendid chestnut trees, with picturesque 

 villages perched on the tops of rocky hills, or lying hidden in 

 sheltered valleys, till it reaches the pine forests and eventually 

 stops at the station of Vizzavona. 



Here we were very soon comfortably settled in the very clean 

 and nice Grand Hotel, which in spite of its name is a sufficiently 

 simple establishment, but perfectly comfortable for a lengthened 

 stay. Vizzavona is right on the edge of the magnificent pine 

 and beech forest, and consists of the hotel, post-office, two or 

 three small villas, and half a dozen cottages ; but it is a con- 

 venient centre, and most of the Corsican butterfly specialities 

 may be taken within a short distance. The afternoon we arrived 

 we went for a short walk in the direction of Tattone, a small 

 hamlet some three miles further on. It was very cool and dull, 

 with only occasional gleams of sun, and we did not see a single 

 insect of a7iy description, which was rather a damper to one's 

 entomological enthusiasm. The heliocrysum, which was so 

 conspicuous a feature at Ajaccio, covering the ground with 

 golden blossom, was at this elevation not in flower. 



Next morning was brilliantly fine, and we started off betimes, 

 through the forest, past the Monte d'Oro hotel, which is forty 

 minutes' walk from Vizzavona, and on to the Col de Vergio ; on the 

 way up we saw very little, an occasional L. sinapis and a single 

 fine Pyrameis atalanta sitting on a plant in a patch of sunlight 

 which forced its way through the thick pine trees. 



However, when we emerged from the forest on to the moun- 

 tain side matters mended somewhat, and it was not long before 

 I had taken one of the Corsican specialities, viz. Coenomjmpha 

 corinna. Near the Monte d'Oro hotel, in the very black-coloured 

 Corsican nettles, were many larvae of Aglais urticce var. ichnusa 

 in all stages of growth. I collected a good number of these, but 

 only took the smallest specimens, as I knew if I took full-fed 

 ones I should probably breed out about ninety per cent, of 

 ichneumons; those I kept fed up and emerged nearly a month 

 later, when I had got back to England, all tine large examples 

 of this interesting insular form of urticce, not a single one being 

 ichneumoned. On the " Nek " itself Lyccena argus {agon) var. 

 Corsica was flying about quite commonly amongst the bracken 

 and small juniper bushes, which here thickly cover the top of 

 the Pass on either side of the road ; they were quite fresh, but 

 the beautifully marked females were rather scarce. 



Passing over the "Nek" and descending a little the other 



