Insects. 2665 



grounds ; the small lovely Erycinidae and Theclae, which were nume- 

 rous in the dry season in dry grounds, being now almost absent. In 

 these swampy grounds sometimes I have a treat, seeing a great variety 

 and number of handsome things flashing about, — the lovely Epicalias 

 darting rapidly about, and settling frequently on leaves, but for an 

 instant, — other species settling on the trunks of trees, — the Helicopes 

 lazily flying, like the English gooseberry moth, and settling on the 

 under- side of the monstrous leaves of Pothos and other gigantic 

 Aracese. The Papilios, Sesostris, &c, are sometimes numerous, set- 

 tling on large yellow blossoms of a lofty tree, and are, I assure you, 

 in such a situation a most lovely sight : then numbers of dusky Satyri 

 are treading along over the carpet of Lycopodiums, or in the virgin 

 forest over the dead leaves. It is by watching carefully the low 

 bushes on the sides of the pathways that the rare and beautiful small 

 butterflies are obtained." 



" Para, June 1st, 1849. 

 " Mr. E. Doubleday has an erroneous idea of the appearance of this 

 country and the habits of the insects, in recommending the searching 

 of flowers for Coleoptera : there are naturally no Jlowers in the coun- 

 try, except a few parasites away up the lofty forest trees and the 

 flowers of the trees themselves. What few flowers grow are in the 

 open grounds, imported ones, and are very few ; and, exposed as they 

 are to the heat of a vertical sun, they scarcely ever contain a beetle. 

 The whole country originally is a lofty uninterrupted and gloomy 

 forest, without flowers and almost without sounds of life. When a 

 bird's note disturbs the silence, the echoes startle one in one's solitary 

 walks. Insects are found always sparingly flitting about in rays of 

 sunshine which peer through the foliage : there being no flowers, thev 

 seem to feed on fallen fruit ; and beetles only appear where there is 

 timber felled or clearings : here I have found all the Longicornes, 

 Buprestidae and Curculionidse, settled on logs and flying about them. 

 The few Gymnetes are found eating leaves. I have collected at all 

 hours from sunrise to sunset, and find that the time of day best for 

 all insects is from 10 to 12, a. m." 



" Para, August 2nd, 1849. 

 " Since I wrote by the ' George Glen ' I have taken a trip to the 

 town of Cameta, at the mouth of the Tocantins : it is situated very 



