SCIENCE-GOSSIP. 



EASTER ENTOMOLOGY ON THE RIVIERA. 



By G. H. Bryan, Sc.D., F.R.S. 



"T^HE northern shores of the Mediterranean are 

 favourite resorts for the tourist and the 

 pleasure seeker. They offer equal attractions to the 

 entomologist and the botanist. Quite a large pro- 

 portion of the European insect fauna frequent the 

 south coast of France, which is also favoured by 

 being the habitat of a number of plants peculiar 

 to the district and not found elsewhere. It was 

 with the object of revisiting these hunting-grounds, 

 after many years absence, that we left England 

 on March 22nd, travelling straight through by 

 the Mont Cenis route to Genoa, which we reached 

 the next evening. 



Our first collecting began at Finalmarina, a 

 primitive Italian village, where the electric light 

 in the narrow streets looked singularly modern 

 by comparison with the old arched houses. A 

 rock near here is one of the few habitats of the 

 Campanula isophylla, of which we now have abun- 

 dance of plants in our greenhouse. From Final- 

 marina we proceeded to Alassio, where insects were 

 just beginning to come out. The sands east of 

 the town were tenanted by numbers of beetles of 

 the genus Pimelia, and the large Atenchus sacer 

 was rolling balls of dung about in every direction ; 

 while each step started a swarm of brightly-coloured 

 grasshoppers, with pink or pale-blue wings, only 

 to again settle and close their wings, when they 

 could scarcely be distinguished from little twigs 

 of stick or dry grass. As their resemblance to 

 the surrounding objects when at rest affords these 

 insects protection, may not the protection be 

 further increased by their bright colours when 

 flying, puzzling and even dazzling their enemies, 

 which are thus less able to identify them when 

 they settle ? The large carpenter bee [Xylocopa 

 violacea) was also abundant. 



Among butterflies, Papilio machaon and P. poda- 

 lirius, Anthocharis belia, Gonopteryx cleopatra, the 

 Continental form of Pararge egeria, Lycaena baton, 

 Spilothyrus alceae and a pale form of Coenonympha 

 pamphilus were just beginning to come out about the 

 1st of April. Colias edusa and Pararge megaera were 

 abundant. At Albenga, we saw one hibernated 

 Vanessa antiopa which eluded my net, but we were 

 rewarded with the capture of a remarkably fine 

 Saturnia carpini far larger than the British form. 

 Of humming-bird moths (Macroglossa stellatarum), 

 hibernated but very rubbed specimens were abun- 

 dant. A number of different bright little red and 

 black Hemiptera belonging to the family Lygaeidae 

 were frequent on plants, and some green locusts 

 occurred on the Capo di Mele. 



March, 1899— No. 58, Vol. V. 



Among the walks from Alassio, the most interest- 

 ing are to the ruined chapel and archway of Santa 

 Croce, the promontory of the Capo di Mele, the 

 Madonna della Guardia at the top of the highest 

 hill behind Alassio, and the valley at the rear c f 

 Andora to the west, two stations away by train. 

 The latter was a perfect paradise of flowers. 

 Anemone stellata and A. coronaria, Narcissus tazzetta, 

 Ophrys aranifera and O. fusca, Tulipa clusiana, and 

 many others, in some places simply carpeting the 

 ground. In other walks, especially at the Madonna 

 della Guardia, Anemone hepatica (Hepatica triloba) 

 was well in flower. Cistus albidvs was just coming 

 out, as was the tall Erica arborea, used for making 

 " briar "-root pipes ; " briar " being a corruption of 

 the French " bruyere," or heath. There were also 

 Lavandula stoechas, Allium neapolitanum, Muscari 

 comosum, Ficaria caUhacifolia, Hypecoum procumbens, 

 Aceras longibracteata, Oxalis libyca, Cytisus decumbens ; 

 and hosts of other plants, too numerous to name, 

 all abounded in full flower. 



At Mentone a week later Papilio podalirius were 

 beginning to emerge from chrysalis, and the brush- 

 wood covering the ridges that separate the principal 

 valleys was a favourite resort for such butterflies 

 as Anthocharis belia, Pier is daplidice, Jhecla rubi, 

 Lycaena melanops, L. argiolus and L. baton; also 

 specimens of Polyommaius phlaeas slightly darker 

 than the English form. In olive and lemon 

 plantations Leucophasia sinapis, with varieties, and 

 Pararge egeria were common. Vanessa egea showed 

 its usual partiality for old walls where it was 

 difficult to capture, and Gonopteryx cleopatra occa- 

 sionally flew past just out of reach. The lovely 

 " Aurore de Provence" (Anthocharis euphenoides) 

 was to be met with near its food-plant, Biscuttlla 

 laevigata, on the hills near St. Agnese, and up the 

 Berceau ; also in the East Bay. In the latter 

 locality, Lycaena orion, L. baton, L. icarus and 

 Syrichtus alveus were to be found, the first-named 

 fairly common. I further caught one Colias hyale. 



Of moths the beautiful Geometer, Euranthis 

 plumistraria, was the most conspicuous ; and among 

 the beetles we found Cctonia squalida on every 

 flower of Cistus, Atenchus semipunctatus, Chtysomela 

 banksii, Cicindela campestris, with C. sylvicola and 

 others. Of Hymenoptera, Meilecta punctata, Mutilla 

 europea, and the ubiquitous Xylocopa violacea. 

 Orthoptera were represented by Mantis empusa. 

 Among Diptera was a small Bombylius hovering 

 round flowers just like a miniature humming- 

 bird moth. One day we saw a pitched battle 

 going on between two small colonies of ants ; 



