XX 
INTRODUCTION. 
full bloom. The broad-leaved fweet Myrtus, Ery- 
thrina corallodendrum, Cactus cochinellifer, Caca- 
lia fuffruticofa, and particularly, Rhizophora con- 
jugata, which flood clofe to and in the fait water of 
the river, were in full bloom, with beautiful white 
fweet fcented flowers, which attracted to them two 
or three fpecies of very beautiful butterflies, one of 
which was black, the upper pair of its wings very 
long and narrow, marked with tranfverfe ftripes of 
pale yellow, with fome fpots of a* crimfon colour 
near the body. Another fpecies remarkable for 
fplendour, was of a larger fize ; the wings were 
undulated and obtufely crenated round their ends, 
the nether pair terminating near the body, with a 
long narrow forked tail ; the ground light yellow, 
firiped oblique- tranfverfely, with ftripes of pale ce- 
lt 1 ft ial blue, the ends of them adorned with little 
eyes encircled with the fineft blue and crimfon, 
which reprefented a very brilliant rofary. But thofe 
which were the mo ft numerous were as white as 
fnow, their wings large, their ends lightly crenated 
and ciliated, forming a fringed border, faintly 
marked with little black crefcents, their points 
downward, with a clufter of little brilliant orbs of 
blue and crimfon, on the nether wings near the 
body ; the numbers were incredible, and there 
feemed to be fcarcely a flower for each fly, multitu- 
dinous as they were, befides clouds of them hover- 
ing over the mellifluous groves. Befides thefe pa- 
piles, a variety of other infects come in for a fhare, 
particularly feveral fpecies of bees. 
As I was gathering fpecimens of flowers from the 
fhrubs, I was greatly furprifed at the hidden appear- 
ance of a remarkably large fpider on a leaf, of the 
genus Araneus faliens: at fight of me he boldly 
faced about, and raifed himfelf up, as if ready to 
fpring upon me ; his body was about the fize of a 
pigeon's 
