460 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1925 



Mr. Lamborn several times watched Megalopalpus zymna deposit 

 a single egg among ants, which have subsequently investigated it 

 with their antenna?, but have not interfered with it. 



LiPHYRA BKASSOLIS 



Mr. F. P. Dodd, of Townsville, Queensland, published in June, 

 1902, an interesting account of this remarkable butterfly. 



He had noticed a female on a warm sunny day in July, 1900, de- 

 positing eggs upon a tree which was in complete possession of the 

 green tree ant {GJcophylla smaragdina). TJpon this tree there were 

 several large nests of the ants, and the butterfly would rapidly fly 

 over the top of the tree once or twice, then come underneath and 

 settle on one of the branches near the trunk. There were four spots 

 to which it returned at different times after its flights, and on ex- 

 amination he found that there were two or three eggs deposited on 

 each. Judging from the number of flights he believed that only 

 one egg was laid at each rest. He has since frequently seen the 

 eggs on other trees in ones, twos, or more; but deposits of two, in 

 several different places, is the number usually to be met with. The 

 eggs are placed on the under side of branches, or on the protected 

 side of the trunk. 



He took several of the eggs, and in 22 days the larva?, flat oval 

 creatures, appeared, but refused to eat, and died. He had taken 

 them on the chance of their being leaf eaters, and with the ants 

 merely for protection, as he had found is the case with several 

 other Australian lycfenids — Arhopalas and HypolycoRna phorhas. 



Some weeks later he pulled the habitations of the ants to pieces, 

 but could find no traces of larva; from the ova left untouched and 

 was unsuccessful with many other nests examined. 



During the next few months he examined scores of nests in the 

 ho23es of finding the caterpillars of this butterfly, but without suc- 

 cess. However, he eventually stumbled across a caterpillar when 

 searching an ants' nest for other insects. 



This individual was half grown, the size and shape being about 

 that of a medium-sized lozenge, with a rim, as in a coin, bordering 

 it all around, but raised somewhat along the dorsal surface. The 

 color was a very pale yellowish brown with seven dark spots on 

 each side near the margin. Across the center of the dorsal surface 

 there were three furrows reaching nearly to the sides. These fur- 

 rows are constant through all the molts (he notes it must be borne 

 in mind that he has not examined larvaj less than about one-third 

 grown, those obtained from the eggs having been lost before he had 

 noticed them particularly), nor do they disappear even when the 

 larval skin becomes the outer pupal shell. The head, legs, and pro- 



