PROBABLE FOOD-PLANTS OF TERTIARY CATERPILLARS. 75 



East Indias, feeds upon Capparis. 1 One species of Phaseolites, one of Sophora 

 and four of Cassia, namely: G. J/yberlorea Ung., C. phaseolites Ung., C. lignitum 

 Ung., and C. ambiyua Ung., are recorded from Radoboj, and as Cassia is a favorite 

 food plant among the larger species of Danai at the present day, we may fairly 

 presume one of these Cassias to have afforded nourishment to Mylothrites Pluto. 

 Moreover, no less than thirty-one species of Leguminosse in general, or between a 

 ninth and a tenth of the whole known flora, are given by von Ettingshausen as 

 occurring in Radoboj ; so that in any case our Mylothrites must have found abun- 

 dance of palatable food. 



The food of Pontla Freyeri is doubtful. All the living species of the genus 

 so far as known, feed upon Cruciferoe ; within this family they do not seem to be 

 at all particular, making use of a large number of genera, but in only a single 

 instance are they known to attack the leaves of a genus (Reseda) belonging to an 

 adjoining family. Cruciferte, however, are excessively rare in the tertiaries of 

 Europe, two species only being recorded, and this from the comparatively recent 

 beds of QBningen. This is unquestionably due simply to the nature of the plants 

 themselves, which scarcely could leave any trace of their existence; the almost 

 complete absence of the herbaceous families of plants, even in the later tertiaries, 

 is doubtless due to this fact. The plants nearest related to the Crucifera3 found 

 near the horizon of Pontla Freyeri are a species of Nelumbium from Gunzbourg in 

 the Mayencian, and of Terminalia (T. radobojensis Ung.) one of the Calyci- 

 flone, from Radoboj itself. Perhaps in the absence of better evidence we may 

 provisionally consider the latter to have been the food plant of P. Freyeri. 



A single Radoboj species remains, Euyonia atava. The recent species of 

 Eugonia feed particularly on Salix, Populus and Betula; also upon Ulmus, and 

 occasionally on Ribes, and even on Hippophae. The first three seem however to 

 be their proper food ; and since the tertiaries of Radoboj contain fossils of all these 

 genera, we need look no farther. There are specified: Salix apollinis Ung., sp., 



J I venture to give one more extract from a recent letter re- nourissant de Capparis. Les Capparis ont du exister, mais leur 



ceived from Count Saporta, although he writes : *'je vous ecris feuilles sont difficiles a distinguer a cause de 1'absence de carac- 



n'ayant sous les yeux ni nies livrcs ui mes collections, ce qui en- tores difl'ereutiels; leur forme et leur nervation peu visiblesdoivent 



levera necessairement un peu de precision a quelques-unes Ue mea les faire confondre avec beaucoup d'autres. II me semble ponrtant 



reponses." que des Capparis ont c-te signales soil a Radoboj. soit a Hoering 



" II est bien plus difficile de justifler par des exemples tires eu Tyrol, dcpGt un peu plus aucieus [TongrianJ, uiais en 1'alj- 



de la nature des plantes la presence a Radoboj d'un insecte se sence de mes livresje ne saurais vous 1'affirmeiv' 



