Butterflies of the Lebanon. 70 



former is common, but the latter I never met with except 

 on the flanks of Hermon, rather high up. We now had 

 a sirocco, which blew for five days, and was most exhaust- 

 ing to man and beast ; even the butterflies were lazy, and 

 would not fly freely. I did not get many new species 

 along these western valleys of Hermon. Most of the 

 mountain was limestone, but in some places we came across 

 the red sandstone, with well-watered valleys and oleanders 

 in full bloom along the streams. In these favoured spots 

 I found Cigaritis acamas Hying in some numbers, but all 

 in very bad order. I failed to get any perfect specimen. 

 The ascent of Hermon (8750 feet) on June 7th was dis- 

 appointing from an entomological point of view ; only a 

 few very common insects were to be found on the broad, 

 stony plateau which forms the summit, and the gullies on 

 the way up and down were hardly remunerative. Many 

 of them were full of snow. L. isaurica was the most 

 interesting insect I took, and there were very few butter- 

 flies of any kind to be had. I saw several P. mnemosyne, 

 in bad order. The heat was now so intolerable that I 

 returned across the Bekaa to the Lebanon, where I found 

 cloud and cold sea breezes again. We encamped for 

 several days at a very nice place called Khan Sunnin, 

 situated on the western slope of Djebel Sunnin, about 

 6000 feet above the sea. This is good butterfly ground, 

 as the grazing is reserved for cattle and horses, and no 

 sheep and goats allowed till late in the year, over a con- 

 siderable tract of mountain, but here I again came in for 

 much wind and cold sea-fog, which did not favour collecting. 

 I went up Djebel Sunnin (8800) June 18th in brilliant 

 weather, and again found the butterflies on the summit 

 disappointing ; there was nothing new to be had though I 

 took a good many insects of various kinds about 1500 feet 

 lower down. From Khan Sunnin we went two days' 

 journey northwards to Afka, riding across a beautiful 

 mountain country, but all terribly overgrazed. For hours 

 I scarcely saw a flower or a fresh green leaf, or a butterfly. 

 Only the cornfields, generally ill cultivated and full of 

 weeds, afford a haven for the insects. A field of green 

 corn will generally produce something of interest to the 

 collector, and no one ever seems to object to a chase in the 

 corn so long as it remains green. The only places where 

 many species of butterfly can be looked for after the end 

 of May, are those tracts of mountain where the grazing is 



