COLLECTING IN VARIOUS PLACES IN 1916-1918. 61 



Collecting in several places in 1916-18. 



By Major P. P. GRAVES, P.E.S. 

 {Continued from page 8.) 



South Palestine. 



From the beginning of July to August 21st, 1917, I was at Deir 

 el Belah in S. Palestine, the Headquarters of the force which was 

 holding the Gaza sector of our front. Butterflies were rare here. The 

 country, which is open grassland with a few trees in the neighbourhood 

 of the villages, was very burnt, and the soil had crumbled into dust 

 under heat and the impact of an immense amount of motor transport, 

 not to mention the trampling of thousands of feet and hoofs. 



A small migration of Belenois mesentina was taking place when I 

 arrived, early in July. Daily, a few males and fewer females of this 

 species flew along the cliffs from north to south, never, as far as I could 

 see, returning. The time of flight was from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A 

 single Colias edtisa was the only other Pierid I saw here. A few 

 Pyrameis cardui were observed, and I found a few— a very few — 

 Polyommatas icariis of very southern summer form, two Rumicia phlaeas 

 g. a. eleus, and two very ordinary Gegenes nostrodamus, in a fig orchard 

 about 1^ mile south of Deir el Belah village. Close to the village, 

 Zizeeria karsandra, Tarucus balcanicus, and Erynnis alceae g. a. australis 

 were taken. The only Odonata seen were an Orthetrum resembling 

 0. chrysostigma, and a Sympetrum, which I took to be S. meridionale. 

 Both were rare. A visit to Khan Yunus — a village with copious wells, 

 extensive plantations, and a dank summer heat — in August, gave me 

 nothing new, but I noted that Tarucus balcanicus was pretty common 

 here along the hedges in which were many Zizyphus trees and shrubs, 

 both Z. lotus and Z. spina -cJiristi occurring. 



Late in August I moved to Umm el Kilab (Angiice — Mother of 

 Dogs !), about four miles from the Turco-Egyptian frontier at Eafa. 

 This was my headquarters till December 30th. During November and 

 December I was frequently absent, having work to do in connection 

 with the advance.. Umm el Kilab and Eafa were in a sandy steppe 

 or veldt area. The political frontier was, I think, geographically not 

 unsound, as it separated veldt, where vegetation, though never fresh, 

 was none too sparse and included many non-desert forms, from a dune 

 region extending to El Arish, wherein vegetation was much sparser 

 and largely desert in character. 



In the dried up steppe grew occasional clumps of Zizyphus spina- 

 christi, which were always good for Tarucus balcanicus till about October 

 20th. I took two damaged P. icarus — probably near this insect's 

 southern limit — a few Z. karsandra, and a few E. alceae g. a. australis. 

 All these in September and the early days of October. On December 

 22nd, a single damaged Z. -karsa^ulra was seen, and on November 9th, 

 a solitary Teracolus fausta. This and the B. mesentina seen here and' 

 at Deir el Belah, were probably strays or migrants. Their food plant, 

 Cajjparis, does not grow in the veldt. 



Other species seen were Pyrameis cardui, Papilio machaon, and 

 Colias edusa — all uncommon. My batman, full of remorse at having 

 broken my thermos flask while I was down with "sand-fly fever," 

 pursued, and aided by a comrade, captured a large P. machaon in his 

 cap ! (about August 23rd.) It was not, of course, in " good order " 

 April 15th, 1919. 



