12 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S BECORD. 



chain among beech woods with wide clearings full of high ferns. The 

 locality was judged excellent ; the people of San Fili were hospitable 

 and respectful, and used gentle pressure on my family to remain. 

 Every time that my wife and daughter went up the high mountain 

 they were accompanied by two Forest guards. 



During the first days, from the 18th to 26th of May, the weather 

 was fine and the collection of Lepidoptera promising enough, although 

 the season was too advanced for the "precocious " species to fly and only 

 damaged specimens were found. As many as 43 species of 

 Ehopalocera were present, but nearly all in small numbers. The more 

 abundant species were C. semiarqus, P. amandns, M. cinxia, B. 

 enphrosyne that is those generally scarcer, whilst of the species 

 generally commoner ; P. icartts, N. ilicis, P. rapae, M. brassicae, C. 

 pamphilits, M. didyma, P. cardui, one saw very few individuals flying. 

 At the distance of 500 miles the phenomenon was identical with Avhat 

 I had observed at Florence. 



One of the principal objects of our journey in Calabria was the 

 collection of P. apollo, race pumilus, Stich., P. mnemosyne, race 

 calabrica, Trti., and Melanargia arge, race turatii, Bostagno ( = cocuz- 

 zana, Staud.}. These species were searched for carefully and the 

 locality seemed excellent for their development, but the apollo was 

 never met with and of the mnemosyne and the arge only a few 

 individuals were collected. With regard to the P. apollo it must be 

 noted that it scarcely emerged at all this year in Italy. On the Alps 

 of South Tyrol, where apollo is always most abundant, Dr. Verity only 

 took a very few specimens ; Dr. Komei did not find it at all on the 

 Monti Sibillini, where it is also abundant, and on the Caronie, in 

 Sicily, Signor Ragusa only succeeded in collecting 7. I myself, on 

 the Alpi Apuane, in spite of continued researches during two months 

 and in the most favourable season, only saw two specimens. 



On May 27tb, 1920, the collecting in Calabria was interrupted 

 by rain. The first of June was fine and the Zygaenae appeared 

 abundantly, but the bad weather returned and continued almost 

 uninterruptedly till June 17th, preventing any collecting. 



On June 4th, taking advantage of a brief cessation of the rain, my 

 wife and daughter went on to the mountain and made an important 

 capture : the Syntomis ragazzii, Turati. They had little knowledge of 

 the fine discovery made by Count Turati ; they only knew that besides 

 the Syntomis mar/ana, Stand., a new Syntomis had been found in 

 Southern Italy, and they at once conjectured that the specimens found 

 must belong to this new species, which they had never seen before. 



On June 17th the weather became fine again ; all the spring 

 Lepidoptera had disappeared and were replaced by the summer ones. 

 From June 17th to 27th there emerged the second broods of R. 

 pldaeas, L. dorilis, A. t/iersites, P. icarus, A. niedon, (J. croceus (edusa), 

 L. sinapis, P. rapae, M. brassicae, C. pamphilus, P. viegera, and the 

 emergence of the summer species began : P. ligurica, P. argus, S. faqi 

 (hermione), S. circe, S. cordula, S. semele, M.athalia, A. niobe, A.cydippe, 

 but just as everything seemed turning for the best, on June 28th, all 

 emergence of insects ceased. 



Vegetation was luxuriant, weather splendid, but collecting no 

 longer offered any interest. One could walk for hours without 

 collecting anything. 



