58 



which was described by Mr. Jones many years ago, growing in an old 

 tin box. 



After two days we pushed on to Castro, some seven hours by train 

 almost due south. Here Mr. Bickerstaph, an American missionary, 

 and his wife met us, and most kindly put us up at their house. Mr. 

 Jones, as many of you know, lived here eleven years, and discovered 

 a large number of new and interesting moths. Castro is a most 

 charming spot, is 2900 feet above the sea, and has a climate that is 

 absolutely ideal. It is in the heart of the Parana campos. These 

 campos contain small patches of wood or coppices, but to the north 

 west of the town of Castro the woods have been of considerable 

 extent. Unfortunately, wiih the ever-spreading civilization and con- 

 sequent cultivation, large tracts of these woods have been cleared for 

 the growing of Indian corn. There are still considerable areas left, 

 but the collecting is not what it was when Mr. Jones was here 

 previously. It is a matter of degree only. We had been spoilt at 

 Guaruja and the Alto de Serra. We made daily visits to some of 

 Mr. Jones' old haunts, and usually got some nice insects. Etiiiica 

 >na?-gariia was common along the railway, and the large day-flying 

 Saturniid, Heliconisa pagetisieckeri, also frequented the line where it 

 traversed a swamp. Some very fine Erycinidce were obtained, includ- 

 ing the remarkable long-tailed Syrniatia dorilas, Fanara thisbe, 

 Charis theodora^ Ernests fafi/nei/a, and many others. 



At the house of Mr. Bickerstaph a fine female specimen of the 

 interesting Dynastor napoleo?i was found. The larva of this species 

 feeds on a large epiphytal Bi'omelia. Mr. Jones pointed out to me a 

 tree covered with large Bromelias where he had taken many larvae 

 in previous years. Very few lepidopierous larvae are known to feed 

 on epiphytal plants, but it is likely that in S. America, where these 

 jjlants are so abundant, many larvae may yet be discovered. 



On March 21st Mr. Jones, Mr. Bickerstaph and myself started on 

 a little expedition to Tibagy, nearly fifty miles west of Castro. We 

 moved off at 8 o'clock, and our caravan consisted of a small two- 

 wheeled cart with the greater part of the baggage, drawn by a pony, 

 and two larger ponies (called horses in Brazil), with Mexican saddles, 

 and the usual coverings of blankets, etc. We took it in turns to 

 ride in the cart, sometimes singly and sometimes two at a time. 

 When two were in the cart, one of our horses, being riderless, had 

 to be manoeuvred between the cart in front and the horse behind, 

 upon which most of the time I was mounted. Generally at starting, 

 and particularly on the first morning, when about two miles from 

 Castro, the riderless horse gave us cause for some anxiety. He 

 would career off, kicking madly in the air, and in time kicked saddle, 

 blankets and all the paraphernalia into the road. This happened 

 several times before Mr. Bickerstaph, who knew the peculiarity of 

 his own horses, decided to ride the truculent " Nellinha." We had 

 no further trouble with 13 st. on her back. The first twelve miles 

 had to be covered at a walking pace, and, in fact, walking is the 



