30 THE entomologist's eecord. 



Next clay I took the train and travelled about 150 miles eastwards, 

 to Slivno (or Sliven), in Eoumelia. There I met the well known col- 

 lector, Joseph Haberhauer, whom I had engaged to accompany me 

 during my travels in Bulgaria. He is now an old man of 72, but still 

 a keen collector, and probably the only person who knows anything of 

 the Bulgarian butterflies. He has lived for many years at Slivno, and 

 is Avell acquainted with that district ; he has also collected during one 

 summer (25 years ago) around the Eilo monastery, in the Ehodope, 

 but could not give me much information as to other parts of the 

 country. I lodged in his house for a fortnight. 



Slivno is a large rambling town of 30,000 inhabitants, built quite 

 in the Turkish fashion ; it is situated in a very warm corner, on the 

 southern side of the east Balkans, surrounded by vineyard-hills, low 

 and gently sloping to the south and west, but rising abruptly to a 

 height of over 3000 feet to the north and east. The vineyards are 

 mostly ill-cultivated, and many are left half wild — a state of affairs 

 which suits the lepidoptera remarkably well. Higher up than the 

 vineyards are stony pastures (over-grazed by sheep and goats) and 

 rough oak scrub, which covers the northern slopes of these moiintains 

 so thickly as to be practically impassable except by the beaten tracks. 

 Eoads there are none to speak of. The geological formation of the 

 lower hills is sandstone, to the west and south of the town, and water is 

 very scarce there. But the ridges northwards and eastwards are gneiss, 

 mica, or, granite, with precipitous sides, rocky gorges and abundant 

 springs. The Tschatalka is the most remarkable point near the town. 



May 23rd I tried the vineyards near Slivno, in hopes of getting 

 Thais cerisyi, but it was yet too early for it, and I saw none. I got 

 some nice insects in a little rough valley among the vineyards, of 

 which the best were Coenonympha leander and Lycaena cmteros 5 , both 

 just out of chrysalis. I also took Pieris daplidice, Colias hyale, Thecla 

 rubi, Melitaea cinxia, M. didyma, M. phoehe, Argynnis lathonia, A. 

 euphrosyne, Lycaena cyUarus, L. eximedon, L. hellargus, L. argiades, L. 

 baton, L. astrarche, L. tolas (very common), Pararge maera (very dark 

 and rather small), Syrichthus malvae, S. alveiis, S. orhifer, Nisoniades 

 tages, and many moths. 



Next day, May 24th, I went up one of the sandstone hills, west of 

 the town, called the Tiirkenwald, about 2200 feet high, and found very 

 good collecting ground on the top and higher slopes, nice open glades 

 covered with rough grass, heath, and flowering plants, and well 

 sheltered by lov/ trees or thick oak scrub. C. leander swa med among 

 the bushes ; on the top Erehia medusa var. cumenis was flying in great 

 numbers, and L. eumedon with its var. fylgia was common on the 

 blossoms of Geranium sanguineum . Besides these I took one specimen of 

 Melitaea trivia, two of M. cinxia ? , in which the ground colour of the 

 wings was almost white, many Argynnis niohe var. eris, Ajwria crataegi, 

 Anthocaris helia var. ausonia, and most of the insects of yesterday's 

 bag. I was also lucky enough to catch a splendid example of 2\ 

 cerisyi, just out of chrysalis, as I was returning to the town. May 

 25th Avas rather cloudy, so we hunted the vineyards near the town, get- 

 ting eight fine T. cerisyi — all males, a very dark form of Lycaena orion, 

 in great plenty, L. sebrus, A. adippe var. cleodoxa, S. orbifer, one S. sidae, 

 and some sundries. All this side of Slivno is very dry and stony. 

 May 26th was again more or less cloudy, so we did not go into the 



