WRIGHT—ON LIBELLULIDZ OF THE SEYCHELLES. 294 
Professor E. Percevan Wricut, M. D., read the following Paper : 
On THE LIBELLULIDEZ OF THE SEYCHELLES. 
Durine my six months’ residence at the Seychelles I was very much 
struck by the apparent absence of insect life. Ants and musquitoes, 
indeed, abounded; the former were busy everywhere, and nothing that 
could be carried off was left very long alone by them; the latter were 
a constant source of discomfort. ‘To all appearance they contrived to 
live happily while often rendering human life miserable. But there 
were no butterflies to be seen flying by day; and the cocoa nut oil 
lamps were let burn uninterruptedly by night, there being no big 
moths to flap over and extinguish them. This was especially the 
case during the months from June to September. Towards October 
insects began to appear, the Cicadee were heard in the trees; and I have 
little doubt that if I had stayed at the islands for the whole of the 
rainy season, I should have collected or seen a fair proportion of species. 
A large number of my specimens collected at Praslin and Mahé were 
destroyed by ants, and in several instances I could not succeed in again 
capturing some of the more local forms. This was especially the case 
with my first collection of dragonflies; the store box in which I had 
packed a lot of specimens was entered by the ants, and the whole 
series destroyed. As it was a very carefully made store-box, without 
any apparent place of exit or entrance for the smallest insect, I was at 
a loss to account for this disaster. At last, determined to find out how 
the ants got in, I left the box tightly fastened as before, with half-a- 
dozen cockroaches pinned inside; and in a few hours I was able to 
trace the swarm of ants to the side of the box, and I then found that 
they got in along the side of one of the small screws which fastened on 
the hinge, and which unfortunately came through. These facts must 
be borne in mind when drawing any conclusion from the paucity of 
species met with by me: first, | was at Mahé at the wrong season of the 
year; and, secondly, I only saved a small portion of my collection. 
On the eastern side of Praslin there is a large extent of flat land, 
nearly the whole of which is under cultivation as a cocoa nut tree plan- 
tation under the charge of Mr. Osughrue. Through this plain a little 
stream, coming down from the mountains, wanders; in some places it. 
spreads out into large-sized ponds, but in very many places it is s0 
small as to be easily stepped over. Where it flows into the sea, 
there is in the dry season a large sandbank, which in the wet 
season is swept again into the sea by the force of the current 
of fresh water. The water is sweet, but becomes a little brackish 
where it approaches the sea sands; and in this portion it abounds 
with many small fish, upon which Ardeola lepida (Manik) feed; 
now and then a Poule d’eau (Gallinula chloropus) is to be seen 
under the bamboo canes; attached to the framework of a small bridge 
over this stream near the sea I collected several fine masses of Spon- 
gilla alba of Carter, hitherto known only as from the tanks of Bombay. 
