1887.] 157 



Smerinthus planus. It lias often been a matter of surprise to me to observe in the 

 highest mountains, uninhabited by either man or beast, great swarms of Simulium, 

 but if one species of these troublesome blood-suckers feeds upon other insects, the 

 larger species may also do so. — H. Petee, Yokohama : Septetnber '7th, 1887. 



The larva of Terias Bethesha, 0. Janson. — I have at last discovered the larva 

 of this butterfly ; during the month of August I observed in my garden many 

 specimens of Terias Bethesha, and a fortnight ago watched two females depositing 

 their eggs on Cassia mimosoides ; this plant having pretty bright foliage, I had 

 allowed to cover a small ornamental hill, and for some time noticed this butterfly 

 frequenting this common weed. The larv£e are now full-grown ; the following is a 

 rough description : — -Head globular, projecting, body uniform in thickness, tapering 

 off abruptly ; slightly pubescent ; colour bright green, harmonizing with the colour of 

 the plant ; when young, it has a conspicuous pale yellow spiracular line, but before 

 changing to pupa this line is white. The larva of Terias multiformis is very similar, 

 the principal difference is that the colour is a shade darker green, and the spiracular 

 line is always white, and when full-fed this line becomes indistinct. — Id. 



P.S. — Referring to my note dated 7th inst., concerning the larva of Terias 

 Bethesha, O. Janson, the imagines from their ova are Just commencing to emerge, and 

 instead of Terias Bethesha, they are all Iceta ! ! Accustomed as I am to the extra- 

 ordinary " temperature " changes of Japanese butterflies, I can hardly conceive it 

 possible that Bethesha and lata are one and the same species. There are, however, 

 several suspicious circumstances : the first is that I know Terias to be a very short 

 time in the ova, larva, and pupa stages ; the second is that we now know that both 

 Bethesha and lata feed on the same plant. Cassia mimosoides, there is no doubt 

 concerning this ; the third is that Bethesha only appears during the hottest months, 

 July and August, and is absent during all the rest of the year, Iceta being only found 

 during the intervening months, that is to say, it appears in September, and then 

 hibernates in the imago during the winter, re-appearing in the spring ; and, fourthly, 

 I now remember that lata last spring was very abundant in my garden, which is a 

 long strip, over an acre in extent, in precisely the same spot that I afterwards 

 observed Bethesha in quantities. My friend, Mr. Nawa, of Gifu, a most enthusiastic 

 entomologist, writes me under date of September 7th, received 10th, that he also had 

 seen Bethesha depositing its eggs on Cassia mimosoides, but had not yet detected 

 Iceta, for which he was on the look out ; it remains to be seen whether his observa- 

 tions tally with mine in the result. I intend next spring to put the matter beyond 

 doubt, by taking the same precautions as when reaving Hecahe and mandarina, and 

 if it is a fact that lasta and Bethesha are one and the same species, I venture to say 

 it is one of the most extraordinary facts we ai*e acquainted with in Natural History, 

 as it would completely upset all hitherto known ideas concerning species, lata and 

 Bethesha being entirely different in appearance and form, far more so than dozens of 

 species of the allied genera ; it is in fact an analogous case to planting a cherry stono, 

 and finding a peach tree come up. — September 20th, 1887. 



September 21 th.- — I was much surprised this morning on examining the breeding 

 cage containing the pupse from eggs laid by Terias Bethesha, to find an imago 

 emerged, which sti'ongly resembles Terias Hecabe, and which in the meanfimo I ara 



