144 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



Gynandrous Lycia (Biston) hirtaria. — Amongst a number of 

 Lycia {Biston) hirtaria I have been taking in this neighbourhood 

 from trunks of hme (hnden) during the last few days, one appears to 

 be worthy of notice. The fore wings are of the normal female outline 

 and markings, as also are the hind wings, except that they are rather 

 more densely scaled with black. Abdomen of female character, but 

 much less in girth than usual (probably from the absence of developed 

 ova), with ovipositor slightly protruding. Eight antenna female, but 

 the left is pectinated as in the male, though rather less strongly than 

 usual. It is a fairly well-developed example, but rather small for a 

 female, being only 1^ inches in expanse. C. G. Barrett's work refers 

 to a similar gynandrous specimen from the Bond collection, which 

 was taken in Kegent's Park. — Wm. G. Pether ; A, Willow Bridge 

 Koad, Canonbury, London, N., 23rd April, 1910. 



Life History of Pamphyla Fiara. — As nothing has yet been 

 published of the early stages of this butterfly, and as the change in 

 colour of the larvae are very great, I think a description of the same 

 may be of interest to collectors of South African insects. The egg, 

 which is yellow-green in colour, is laid upon the upper side of the 

 leaves of the Strelitza (wild banana), and the larva, when it emerges, 

 is brilliant red in colour, with a black head ; it immediately rolls 

 itself up in a small piece of the leaf, leaving the ends open, and feeds 

 upon the edges. The first moult takes place about the fourth day ; the 

 larva is then dark-brown in colour, and the head still black ; it 

 makes a new house this time, turning a piece of the leaf flat over 

 itself and fixing the sides down with a strong white silky web. It 

 is some three-quarters of an inch in length before the second moult 

 takes place, in about five days. The larva is then a dark green in 

 colour, except the head, which is black, and the last segment which 

 has a brown, hard patch above the last claspers; the spiracular spots 

 are orange-red in colour. The third moult takes place in about six 

 days and the larva is similar in appearance to the previous stage. 

 The fourth moult takes place about seven days later ; the larva is then 

 very pale green in colour, and the intestine can be plainly seen 

 through the skin ; the head is then very large and the colour half 

 black and half white, while the last segment is black upon the upper 

 half, and the spiracular spots are bright orange-red in colour. When 

 full-fed this larva is two and a quarter to two and a half inches in 

 length, and is very strong, being able to cement firmly together the 

 two sides of a whole leaf, which is often twenty-four to thirty-six inches 

 in length. When about to pupate, the larva rolls itself up, generally 

 in a dead portion of the leaf, fixing itself entirely all round with silk, 

 turns a pale pink colour, and in about seven days it changes to a 

 light brown pupa; it is then covered with white powder which easily 

 rubs off. The time before the butterfly emerges varies greatly : in 

 one instance only twelve days elapsed, but others have been twenty- 

 six days in the pupal state. I found the eggs at Pinetown, Natal, on 

 February 4th of this year, this is the second new larva of a butterfly I 

 have found there, in twelve months. Last year in the same locality 

 I got Cajnjs disjunctus (see Entom., 1909, p. 184). — G. F. Leigh, 

 F.E.S. ; Durban, Natal, March 26th, 1910. 



