July, 1840. INSECTS AT ZEMU SAMDONG. <;;, 



Large parties of women and children were daily passing 

 my tent from Tnngn, to collect arum-roots at the Thlonok, 

 all with baskets at their backs, down to rosy urchins of six 

 years old : they returned after several days, their baskets 

 neatly lined with broad rhododendron leaves, and full of 

 a nauseous-looking yellow acid pulp, which told forcibly of 

 the extreme poverty of the people. .The children were very 

 fair ; indeed the young Tibetan is as fair as an English 

 brunette, before his perennial coat of smoke and dirt has 

 permanently stained his face, and it has become bronzed 

 and wrinkled by the scorching sun and rigorous climate of 

 these inhospitable countries. Children and women were 

 alike decked with roses, and all were good-humoured and 

 pleasant, behaving with great kindness to one another, and 

 unaffected politeness to me. 



During my ten days' stay at Zemu Samdong, I formed a 

 large collection of insects, which was in great part destroyed 

 by clamp : many were new, beautiful, and particularly inte- 

 resting, from belonging to types whose geographical distri- 

 bution is analogous to that of the vegetation. The 

 caterpillar of the swallow-tail butterfly [Pcqnlio Machaon), 

 was common, feeding on umbelliferous plants, as in 

 England ; and a Sjjhgnz? (like S. Euphorbia) was devouring 

 the euphorbias ; the English Cynthia Cardai (painted-lady 

 butterfly) was common, as were " sulphurs/ ' "marbles," 

 Pontia (whites), " blues," and Thecla, of British aspect 

 but foreign species. Amongst these, tropical forms were 

 rare, except one fine black swallow-tail. Of moths, Noctuce 

 and Geometrce abounded, with many flies and Tvpula. 

 Hymenoptera were scarce, except a yellow Ophion, which lays 

 its eggs in the caterpillars above-mentioned. Beetles were 

 most rare, and (what is remarkable) the wood-borers {Jongi- 

 corns and Curculio) particularly so. A large Telepkora was 



VOL. II. F 



