A MONTH'S COLLECTING IN HUNGARY. 57 



much worn, and there were only very few which could be con- 

 sidered worthy of cabinet rank ; here also I took a few fresh 

 M. cinxia, smaller and darker than my specimens from the 

 Riviera or Digne, while E. card/amines and Nisoniades tages 

 were both common. On the way home two Erynnis alcece were 

 taken off the path near the farmhouse, and a few minutes after- 

 wards, when I had almost despaired of seeing it, I captured two 

 C. thersamon, both males in perfect condition. The following 

 day, on the same marshes, I found C. thersamon common, but 

 local, and was able to take a nice series of this lovely " copper." 

 They were very fond of sitting on the white composite flowers of 

 a plant which grew somewhat abundantly by the side of the 

 path, and this was a very convenient habit, as it prevented the 

 necessity of going into the standing hay after them ; when 

 sitting with expanded wings to get all the heat from the rays of 

 the afternoon sun they are a beautiful object, and one is easily 

 able to pick out the good specimens and leave the others ; the 

 females were scarce and I did not get more than three or four. 

 Several other species were taken which I had not noticed the 

 previous day ; R. argus (agon) was becoming plentiful, and 

 several fresh Loweia dorilis males were netted. In Promontor 

 Wood a very fine dark form of Pararge mcera was frequent ; this 

 variety was so much like a large P. hiera that I at first mistook 

 it for that species. P. podalirius and P. machaon were both 

 rather common, and single specimens of newly emerged Aporia 

 cratcegi ; two very fine large male P. baton, and a few Pontia dapli- 

 dice occurred ; while a pair of fresh Melitcea trivia were secured 

 at the wood. Of the latter species I had hoped to have secured 

 a series on the Schwabenburg, but never saw more than one or 

 two specimens on any of the three days I visited that locality. 



The best place near Budapest for M. trivia is Csepel, which is 

 a large island in the Danube, a short distance south of the city, 

 which I visited on the afternoon of the 24th, as I was anxious to 

 secure a series of this species. After walking through the village 

 towards the south end of the island for a couple of miles, one 

 comes to a large stretch of virgin forest, which covers the whole 

 of this end of the island ; it is mostly composed of small oaks, 

 dwarf poplars, and thick juniper scrub planted on numerous 

 sandhills, the open spaces and glades between them being 

 covered with rushes, coarse grass, and flowering-plants growing 

 very luxuriantly. The soil is very sandy, in fact the conditions 

 here are almost exactly the same as in the forest at Peszer ; 

 and probably both localities are untouched remains of the vast 

 primeval forest which in bygone ages stretched for miles over 

 this part of South-eastern Europe. Like Peszer, also, this end 

 of Csepel Island is an extremely prolific locality for butterflies, 

 and I found several species very abundant. 



(To be continued.) 

 ENTOM. — FEBRUARY, 1913. F 



