GENERAL NOTES. 
85 
Eggs are occasionally laid by bred butterflies which have been kept separated from males. 
These eggs are infertile and are generally white or colourless. There are, however, certain species 
of moths of the Families Psychidce and Tineidoz which are parthenogenetic, i.e, lay fertile eggs 
without intercourse with males. 
Perhaps one reason why so many larvse of butterflies (especially when young) invariably 
feed on the underside is because the lower substance of leaves is usually softer and more succulent 
than the upper skim The larvae would scarcely be concealed any better on the under-surface than 
on the upperside, as birds, lizards, etc. can examine one side as easily as the other. 
Amongst the flowering shrubs and trees so much frequented by the Lycoenidee and many 
other butterflies and insects are species of Evodia , Achronychia and Eugenia , all with small but 
thickly-clustered yellowish-white flowers. Eugenia operculata , however, has large tasselled flow¬ 
ers, much frequented by Delias and a few other butterflies. But the flowers which attract the 
majority of the butterflies here are those of Lantana camara, L., Nat. Ord. Verbenacece; not an 
indigenous shrub here, but originally a native of S. America, now widely diffused along the south 
coast of China, though it does not yet appear to have established itself very far inland. It is quite 
a recent importation, having probably arrived within the last fifty or sixty years. It is not the 
foodplant of any butterfly larva so far as I am aware, though the larvse of a few moths feed on it. 
This very pretty though somewhat straggling shrub has spread rapidly through the warmer coun¬ 
tries of the globe, probably chiefly through the agency of birds, many of which are very fond of the 
berries, especially Bulbuls and White-eyes. In some of the Pacific islands Lantana has spread till 
it has become a curse, but it is not likely to overrun South China for, like every other woody plant, 
it is sought after by the ubiquitous fuel-gatherers. It is more or less in flower and fruit together 
throughout the year, and furnishes food and shelter to a host of birds, insects and reptiles—chiefly 
lizards and small snakes. 
Although the Violet is scarce round Hongkong and Macao, a scentless species is very 
common both on the hills and in the valleys and plains of the West River, from Canton to Wu- 
chow, especially near Kum-chuk, Sam-shui, How-lik and other places, and in consequence Argynnis 
hyper bins is common in these districts; it is also fond of haunting the barren summits of the 
highest hills here. Smilax China also grows profusely in the above-mentioned localities, and 
Vanessa canace is correspondingly abundant there. Lantana has apparently not yet spread so far 
inland, or at least is scarce beyond Canton. How-lik, about eighteen miles above Sam-shui, and Lo- 
fu-shan, some sixty miles east of Canton and seventy north of Hongkong, are two small but 
beautifully wooded and watered areas, where the vegetation has been protected by the large Buddhist 
monasteries located in both places; some of the trees are of great height and girth, and How-lik 
forms a sanctuary for a bright-plumaged Barbet ( Megalcema) and a charming little squirrel with 
brown fur, striped down the back with fawn and black. Neither Barbet nor squirrel seems to stray 
from this patch of forest. The wooded hills here are probably not over two thousand feet in height, 
though the barren hill at the back, whence the stream descends, is just over three thousand; but two 
