264 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, 1890. 



that a small beetle or lady-bird has been at work : a caterpillar usually 

 eats from the edge. The eating of a full-grown Sphynx larva may 

 easily be mistaken for that of a goat ; but when hunting for butterfly 

 larvae we are not liable to this error. When the eating is traced to a 

 caterpillar the chances are that it is that of a moth ; but if the 

 depredator is found there is not much difficulty in distinguishing the 

 two. Another, more certain, indication of the whereabouts of a 

 caterpillar is its droppings, but these will only be seen on clean 

 ground. 



The caterpillars of most butterflies confine themselves to one 

 plant, or to two or three which are closely allied, and even when two 

 very different plants are commonly eaten by the same species, a 

 caterpillar taken on one will usually refuse any of the others. Allied 

 butterflies commonly feed on plants or trees of the same order, and 

 a knowledge of botany, besides guiding the lepidopterist's search, 

 adds very much to the interest of his pursuit. A knowledge of 

 habits will also help the collector. He will soon learn that it is 

 useless to look under a leaf for a Papilio, or to look anywhere else 

 for a Euplma. He will also acquire, as a bird-nester does, an 

 instinctive knowledge of likely situations. A butterfly, for instance, 

 will pass over a dozen trees and lay its eggs on a young shoot 

 springing up in the middle of the path. The most valuable 

 discoveries are often made by seeing a butterfly laying its eggs. 

 Nearly all butterflies, unlike moths, lay their eggs singly, on 

 young branches with tender shoots ; and so, when you see a butterfly 

 persistently hovering round a tree or bush without flowers, you 

 may guess its purpose. After a time it will alight just long enough 

 to affix one egg, and then fly off again, and if you mark the spot 

 carefully, you may secure the egg. 



Yfe are assuming that the collector hunts in person, but a good 

 deal may also be done by the help of natives. At the beginning 

 of last season we used to be accompanied by three or four boys, 

 who carried spare nets, caterpillar boxes, &c. A more unpromising 

 squad can scarcely be conceived — unclothed, unwashed, unintelligent, 

 unambitious, refusing to admit that they could recognise a single 

 tree lest they might be sent to fetch leaves. We always addressed 

 them endearingly as " pigs," and they seemed proud of the name 



