gascar, in Bengal, China, Java, New Holland, Brazil, and North America; so that it may be called a complete cosmopolite. Of the four quarters of the globe, Europe is poorest in these insects; and next to it is Africa. Asia, including the great islands of the Indian Archipelago and America, are both exceedingly rich. Of the former, the islands seem to be much more prolific than the continent; they are the exclusive haunts of the gigantic Ornithoptera, several of the largest and most richly coloured of the Pierides, as well as several of the most remarkable species of the genus Morpho. South America produces a greater number than any other country; and Brazil, always preeminent for its exuberance both in animal and vegetable life, may be said to be the richest portion of the new continent. It has been estimated by an individual who has enjoyed the advantage of personally examining the country, that Brazil alone affords between 600 and 700 species of diurnal lepidoptera, a calculation which seems in no degree overcharged. Among these are many genera peculiar to America, such as Heliconia, Castnia, Erycina, &c. In almost every one of its physical properties, Africa affords a complete contrast to the country just named; and however favourable its arid soil, and far-extending desarts of parched and drifting sand, may be to the existence of certain peculiar races of coleoptera, it is by no means generally adapted to the support of creatures which derive their entire sustenance from vegetable juices. The sea-coast, and umbrageous banks of the larger
