74 
BLUEFIELDS. 
this specie^ ; no caterpillar at all resembling that 
of U. FernandincE ever occurred to me. Several of 
the eggs above mentioned I examined with a micro- 
scope ; their form is that of a globe slightly flattened 
at the poles, marked with numerous ridges running 
perpendicularly, like meridians : their colour is yel- 
lowish-white. 
LIZARDS. 
One feature with which a stranger cannot fail to be 
struck on his arrival in the island, and which is 
essentially tropical, is the abundance of the Lizards 
that everywhere meet his eye. As soon as ever he 
sets foot on the beach, the rustlings among the dry 
leaves, and the dartings hither and thither among the 
spiny bushes that fringe the shore, arrest his atten- 
tion^ ; and he sees on every hand the beautifully- 
coloured and meek-faced Ground Lizard {Ameiva 
dorsalis) scratching like a bird among the sand, or 
peering at him from beneath the shadow of a great 
leaf, or creeping stealthily along with its chin and 
belly upon the earth, or shooting over the turf with 
such a rapidity, that it seems to fly rather than run. 
By the road-sides, and in the open pastures, and in 
the provision-grounds of the negroes, still he sees 
this elegant and agile Lizard ; and his prejudices 
against the reptile races must be inveterate indeed, 
if he can behold its gentle countenance, and timid 
but bright eyes, its chaste but beautiful hues, its 
* “ Nunc virides etiam occultant spineta lacertos.” — V irg. 
