5728 Notes on an Excursion 



Circumstances obliged me to leave Tunantins sooner than I had 

 intended, as I had agreed to descend in a sailing vessel belonging to 

 an Ega merchant, which T was told would leave Tunantins after 

 Christmas, but it was afterwards arranged to sail on the 1st of 

 December. However, I worked diligently during my twenty days' 

 stay : the weather was very favourable, and I had nothing to hinder 

 me from making the best of my time. On the slopes of the dell, the 

 first day, I met with two species of Cybdelis new to me, one closely 

 allied to C. Clytia, Hewits., the other to C. Castalia, Hewits. A few 

 days afterwards they were in great abundance, in company with 

 Clytia and Castalia, a few Cinara, Celma, Bechina, Eurotas, three 

 other species (also found at Ega), and a third new one, which I did 

 not succeed in capturing. It seemed to be the head-quarters of the 

 genus Cybdelis, as Clytia and another species were in countless mul- 

 titudes. They are extremely wary and rapid butterflies, settling on 

 the moist ground and darting off to the foliage of high trees on the 

 least alarm. In the same places there were five species of Timetes, 

 all old friends, and a sixth species new to me, but I think known to 

 Science; it resembles T. norica, Hewits., but has the basal half of 

 all the wings silky fulvous : 1 only captured one specimen. Next to 

 these two genera the Eubages were most abundant, racidula, Hewits., 

 and Erchia, Hewits., two other species old friends, and two species 

 quite new to me. I think every station hence to the Andes will offer, 

 when properly searched, new species of the genera Cybdelis and Eu- 

 bagis. The two species of Megistanis, the white-belted and rufous- 

 belted, the females of which still remain to be discovered, were also 

 rather common ; but they are more frequently seen dashing madly 

 about the houses, settling on the mud or other impurities in their 

 vicinity. Four species of orange-banded Epicaliae occurred, and E. 

 Ancea I found in the forest : it does not occur at Ega, but turned up 

 again at Fonte Boa. The fifth or sixth day I captured a Cata- 

 gramma, a species resembling C. cynosura, Doublet., also found at 

 Ega; and a day or two afterwards, after two hours' chase, being led 

 by it round and round the dell from tree to tree, on the trunks 

 of which it settled, I captured a glorious species of the same genus, 

 new to me, and before I left, by daily search, succeding in getting 

 two more specimens. I saw a fourth, and believe that the species 

 will be found some day further up the river, as well as many other 

 new ones of this most beautiful group of insects. On the last day of 

 my stay I captured two of a third species from the trunk of a tree, at 

 which they were imbibing the oozing sap. This species also occurs 



