300 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [July, 'l4 



Butterfly Collecting in Mojave County, Arizona (Lep.)» 



By J- R. Haskin, Los Angeles, California. 



A glance at the map of the United States will show the 

 southeastern point of Nevada on the thirty-fifth parallel to 

 be separated from Arizona by the Colorado River. About 

 35 miles east of the river on the line of the Santa Fe Railway 

 is the small town of Kingman. 



From the car window the traveler through this country sees 

 only arid stretches of hill and plain — no trees and but a scanty 

 growth of low brush, interspersed with cactus, to serve as a 

 cover to the desert plains. Yet there is a wonderfully attrac- 

 tive something about this land that appeals to men and makes 

 them return again and again. Those who have settled in it 

 seem never satisfied when away for any length of time. Per- 

 haps it is the dry, clear atmosphere and the brilliant sunshine ; 

 perhaps the feeling of being out in the limitless open, where 

 each man's individuality stands out and he feels that he really 

 is a man among men and not simply a unit in a group of other 

 sim.ilar units. 



To nature lovers, to naturalists, what appeals most strongly 

 is the feeling of great open spaces, alive and yet so still, espe- 

 cially when the lengthening shadows subdue the hum of insect 

 life and the occasional call of a belated bird sounds startlingly 

 clear. 



In the early spring of certain years, after the light snows 

 have disappeared, western Arizona is like a beautiful garden. 

 The ground is carpeted for miles with bright flowers of in- 

 riumerable species. The clumps of low brush are fresh and 

 green, and even the various species of cactus seem to have 

 taken a new lease on life. Soon, however, the dry heat of 

 approaching summer causes a rapid change and the country 

 becomes an apparently barren desert except for the few 

 scrubby bushes. About the middle of summer, rains may be 

 expected and heavy downpours occur occasionally as late as 

 September. Yet they have very little effect, as the water runs 

 off so rapidly that the vegetation does not seem to benefit by it. 



From my experience during the past four years I have come 



