554 E. T. LEWIS ON &03IE INSECTS SENT FROM QUEENSLAND. 



roimd the abdomen, and four similar but larger tubercles upon 

 the head. Whether these were the same species as the larvae, it 

 is not possible to determine ; but as one of the number had the 

 appearance of being almost mature, I ventured to carefully 

 remove the investing pupa case, and was rewarded by finding 

 inside a butterfly so perfectly formed that it must have been 

 within a few hours of emergence when put into the spirit. The 

 wings w^ere as usual very short, but on setting them out, the 

 pattern upon them was quite distinct, although the wings were 

 less than one-third of their ultimate length. It is well known 

 that after emergence from the pupa case a butterfly usually rests 

 for a time upon some upright object, and that during this period 

 the wings are lengthened out to their full size, and after the 

 complete adhesion of the upper and under surfaces the membranes 

 become dry and hard, and the insect is then ready to take flight. 

 An examination of the wing at this time shows it to be perfectly 

 covered with scales, each row overlapping that below it, like the 

 tiles on a roof, and it has sometimes been a little diflicult to 

 understand how this arrangement came about, seeing that the area 

 of the wings when fully extended was at least six to nine times 

 greater than on their first emergence. There is no doubt nothing 

 new in the observation, but it was a source of great interest to me 

 to have in this instance an opportunity of seeing exactly how the 

 scales were arranged on the pupal wing. They were at once 

 seen to be perfectly formed, but all standing on end, and 

 packed closely together like so many tiles standing on edge 

 and in contact, and it was obvious that the extension of the 

 membrane to which their lower extremities were attached would 

 have the double effect of separating the rows and causing them 

 to incline in the direction of the line of tension, until, when this 

 had reached its limit, they would lie horizontally in contact and 

 overlapping, just as would happen if the tiles on edge were 

 separated from each other by three-fourths of their length and 

 were then laid flat in the same direction. The pattern and 

 coloration upon the unextended wings are quite perfect, forming 

 a pattern in miniature of what the ultimate markings would be. 

 The present stretch of the wings being about one and a half 

 inches, this object also is of more than microscopic size, and any 

 attempt to mount it in a cell would render examination trouble- 

 some and unsatisfactory. 



Journ. Quek-ttt Microscopical Club, Ser. 2, Vol. VIII., No. 53, November 1903. 



