FAUNA AND FLORA, RATBURI, FETCH ABURI. 137 



only heard it at elevations of 1000 metres or more. A Davison's Barbet 

 T (Cya7iops davisoni) was obtained with three young, in a hole at the top 

 of a dead stump. All the barbets are bad sleepers, and throughout the 

 night in jungle countr}^ whether camping in valley or mountain top, 

 one hears their monotonous call. 



At this high elevation a brilliantly^ coloured snake was found, 

 possibly Doliophis hivinjatus. The snake, some 4 feet long, was azure- 

 blue covered with small white spots, the whole head and last 6 inches 

 of the tail being a brilliant red, glistening as though painted with 

 enamel. In July my coolies met and described to me a similar snake, 

 found at some 800 metres elevation. 



Working on this 1200 metre ridge, two species of Horse Fly 

 (Tahanus ruhidus and T. striatus) were very troublesome, in addition 

 to hundreds and thousands of thirsty bees of five different sizes which, 

 during the hot season, are always attracted to freshly felled spots, and 

 liinder one's work by entering eyes, ears, and nose, swarming on the 

 hands and exploring up one's sleeves in their search for moisture. Fre- 

 (|uently thej^ become so bad as to necessitate smoke fires. Fortunately 

 only two of the larger species of bee sting. The largest, with a buff 

 band round the body, constructs big half-circular nests beneath the 

 horizontal limbs of a smooth backed species of Ficus, or beneath an 

 overhanging rock on a cliff face. This species is widely distributed 

 and I saw a nest in course of making beneath an arch at the Colombo 

 jMuseum. 



While on the subject of thirsty insects, it may be of interest to 

 mention that certain Skipper and Fritillary butterflies have the 

 power of exuding drops of water to moisten surfaces on which they 

 wish to feed, and I think this must be a peculiarity of tropical butter- 

 flies, as I certainly never noticed or heard of it in Europe. On one 

 occasion a Skipper exuded five drops of water within the space 

 of two minutes on the back of my hand, dabbling his trunk in the 

 drop between his hind legs until finished, when he repeated the process. 

 The drops were of large size and the five together would apparently 

 equal the bulk of the insect's body. I have seen them do the same 

 thing on a chair or table in camp. 



When ascending to this camp on the 28th March, we experienced 

 torrential rain, and on the 31st the camp was enveloped in cloud. 

 Descending on the 1st April, v/e found the rains and floods had brought 



