﻿NYMPHALIN^. (Group LIMENITINA.) 191 



a female of Athyma opalina, lay on the leaves of Berberis aristata. Hook. It fluttered 

 over the leaves, and curled tlie apex of its abdomen under a leaf, depositing an egg 

 on the underside. The egg is round, but is a little flattened at its base where it 

 rests on the leaf. When first laid it is brown, and is covered with silveiy dots 

 which glisten in the suo. May 18th. — The ovum turned to a greenish-yellow with 

 a brown crescent to be seen through its centre. May 20th. — This dark mark filled 

 the anterior moiety of the egg, the posterior moiety being of a liglit dirty yellow. 

 May 21st. — Larva emerged, but no trace of the egg-shell was to be seen, so probably 

 its first meal was made off the shell. Larva a quarter of an inch long, of a dull green 

 colour, with a very large brown head. June 5th. — Larva now about five-eighths of 

 an inch in length, colour brown, with a bright green dorsal patch, and covered with 

 small tufts. June 6th. — Larva changed its skin during the night, and is now much 

 more bristly. June 9th. — Larva again changed its skin. The spines are now more 

 prominent. June 13th. — Larva changed in the night from a dark brown to a 

 beautiful green colour, very closely resembling the colour of its food-plant. There 

 is a spiracular somewhat lunulated narrow yellow band. This band is whitish on 

 the last three segments ; the underside is brown, merging into pale green on the 

 last three segments. The legs and claspei'S are also brown, but of a darker shade. 

 Head round, colour raw-sienna; two A-shaped dark bars on the face are covered with 

 minute white spines. Two black spines on the top of the head; the rest of the head 

 covered with raw-sienna-coloured spines. The 3rd and 4th segments are each armed 

 with a whorl of four branched raw-sienna-coloured spines. The 5th, 7tb, 8th, 9th, 

 and 10th segments with smaller spines ; the 12th segment with two bi'anched-spines; 

 the 1 3th segment with four simple anal spines, and two small branched-spines just 

 above them. The subdorsal series is very much the largest, particularly so on the 

 fifth segment. All the branches are of a darker brown colour tipped with white. 

 The larva is entirely covered with minute white spots. June 20th. — There is now a 

 dorsal band, moss-green in colour, spotted with darker green ; a broad lateral blue 

 band lined transversely with darker blue bars crossing the band obliquely ; a some- 

 what irregular narrow spiracular band extending from the 6th to the 13th segments, 

 colour orange and pale ochreous alternately, the orange colour corresponding with 

 the middle of each segment; posterior to this is an interrupted brownish line. Legs 

 black ; claspers and abdomen pale whitish-green. Length 1|- in. June 21st. — 

 Larva suspended itself by the anal claspers. Colour throughout yellowish-white. 

 During the day from the head to about the middle the larva became much 

 yellower, and the posterior half became almost quite white. June 22nd. — Pupa 

 of a dingy white. June 23rd. — Pupa of a brilliant metallic hue, and looks like 

 burnished gold with burnished silver wing-cases. July 6th. — Imago emerged." 

 Mrs. S. Robsou (J. Bombay, N. H. S. 1894, p. 338.) 



