222 THE .ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



other bank, as I saw no others on the eastern side. Syrphidae generally- 

 seemed very scarce ; a careful search among some flower beds round the 

 English Church at Suez failed to produce any, and a search among the 

 flowers in Nouzha Gardens at Alexandria, made when on a week's leave 

 in October, was also a blank, though in similar seasonal circumstances 

 at home at least three or four species of Eristalis would be seen fre- 

 quenting the flower heads. The only other Syrphidae I can recall to 

 mind were, firstly, some specimens of a Melanostoma [mellinum or 

 scalare ^) seen round about some dandelions in a waste portion of a 

 park at Ismailia, towards the end of January, 1917 — the numerous 

 flowering plants and shrubs in this park being devoid of- insect life ; 

 and secondly, several specimens of a Syrphus in the reed beds bordering 

 lake Menzaleh, the biggest of the Egyptian lakes situated alongside 

 the northern portion of the Canal. On one of the few occasions I was 

 able to get away from the camp I noticed an Acalypterate Muscid 

 (? a Lanxania) in abundance on some desert scrub ; this fly now and then 

 appeared in camp. On the same occasions I noticed several specimens 

 of a fair sized Spilogaster, but AntJioiiiyidae as a rule were conspicuous 

 by their absence. An R.A.M.C. orderly told me that Fannia canicti- 

 laru had been found breeding in one portion of the camp, but I did 

 not myself see any specimens. Miisca domestica was a great nuisance 

 all through the hot weather, and Stomoxys ccdcitrans, in the proportion 

 of about 1 to 50 M. domestica was also present. Although there w^as 

 a certain amount of seaweed and refuse on the shore by the southern 

 mouth of the Canal, I did not see any of the shore-frequenting Diptera 

 that might have been expected. A few Tachinids {Sarcophayae /) were 

 seen now and again. 



As regards Lepidoptera I only noticed a very few species. A "blue" 

 about the size of the English "little blue" was plentiful in the church 

 garden at Suez. In the autumn I saw several specimens of the hum- 

 ming-bird hawk moth ; another hawk moth (celerio ?) was brought to 

 me one night in a battered condition from the sergeants' mess, and a 

 fellow entomologist in a neighbouring unit caught two hawk moths 

 resembling our lime hawk, also two Death's head moths and a Danaid 

 butterfly (/ Anosia ]jlexippus). I also saw a very worn specimen of this 

 species in the Park at Ismailia. A few Noctuid moths and several Micro- 

 lepidoptera (Deltoids) were attracted by lights at dark. In 1917, when 

 stationed at Kantara, further up the Canal, Lepidoptera were more 

 numerous. Pyraineis cardiii vfa.s frequently seen, also several Pierids and 

 an occasional Colias. I was interested to notice several examples of that 

 rare British insect the crimson speckled Footman, Deiopeia pulchella. 

 In this camp mosquitoes were occasionally troublesome, especially when 

 the wind blew strongly from lake Menzaleh. I had an opportunity one 

 day towards the end of April of strolling along the margin of the lake. 

 A flowering shrub" attracted numerous small " blues " allied to our Lam- 

 pides boetica, in most cases, but not all, they kept the two little tails on 

 their hindwings in perpetual motion when settled. The only other 

 Lepidoptera seen were one or two Pierids. This w^as the only oppor- 

 tunity I had to look carefully for Diptera, and I was disappointed to 

 see so few species. I had hoped to see some Stratiomyidae and Doli- 

 chopodidae at least, but apart from M. domestica I can only call to mind 



This same flowering shrub attracted the species of Syrphus referred to above. 



