BUTTERFLIES NEAR VENICE. 233 



speaking, half a mile in breadth, and is well described by the 

 poet Symonds as : — 



" A tract of land swept by the salt sea-foam, 

 Fringed with acacia flowers and billowy-deep 

 In meadow-grasses, where tall poppies sleep, 

 And bees athirst for wilding honey roam." 



Recently, much of the land has been cultivated, numerous 

 villas and hotels built, while charming pergolas covered with 

 vines and roses run each side of the road. Innumerable visitors 

 and tourists come over daily from Venice in the different steamers 

 which every half hour cross in twenty minutes from the main- 

 land ; the people come for the sea bathing for which the Lido 

 is justly famous, and it was on my first visit to the shore for 

 that purpose that I saw numerous butterflies, which resulted in 

 my paying several more visits, during which I was able to 

 devote my time to insects instead of the bathing. 



There is still a good deal of land uncultivated and not yet 

 built over on the Lido ; rough ground with scattered pine trees, 

 and fields of a few acres in extent on which grew a most 

 luxuriant third crop of hay full of flowers, amongst which clover 

 and a blue flowering lucerne were the commonest. In these 

 places butterflies were numerous, and also on the high rough 

 bank running the whole length of the shore ; this bank is very 

 wide and is covered with brambles, small acacia trees, and 

 poplars, and on each side long grass and flowers with open 

 patches of ground, quite a good place for insects. 



At the far end of the Lido is still a good deal of wood and 

 virgin ground, but this I was not able to visit, otherwise I should 

 no doubt have turned up more species than I did. The majority 

 of species seen were generally quite fresh, and were all of them 

 no doubt second and some third broods. 



Erynnis alcece. A few were flying in the hay-fields, but they 

 had seen their best days, and I only kept a couple which could be 

 considered worthy of cabinet rank. 



Nisoniades tages. Quite common and fresh, rather small per- 

 haps, but in no way remarkable. 



Argiades sylvanus. Plentiful ; apparently a third brood recently 

 emerged, as they were all quite fresh. 



Chrysophanus thersamon. I only took two specimens of this 

 " Copper," both males and both much worn. They were in the same 

 hay-field flying along one of the numerous little dykes which are 

 dug in all directions to irrigate the land. I think I saw another 

 specimen in a different locality, but it was blown away before I 

 could secure it. I presume the two specimens I took were examples 

 of a second brood. C. thersa?non was common near Budapest on 

 May 23th, and I found it then quite fresh. 



C. phlceas var. eleus. One specimen caught, the only one seen. 



Nomiades semiargus. A few rags of this species on the flowers 



