( xxii ) 



upon which it now feeds. These older leaves are blue-green 

 in coloui' and covered with white spots. The i"esemblance of 

 the pupa to the leaf is so perfect, that I have failed to notice 

 them upon twigs which I had picked for food, until they 

 Avere revealed upon the bare stems from which all the leaves 

 had been stripped. I believe that Col. Fawcett has described 

 and illustrated this example of protective resemblance. 



"The larva of Cliaraxes citheron exactly resembles its food- 

 plant in colour and markings, whereas C. varanes has yellow 

 markings, which render it very conspicuous. C. ethalion also, 

 with its one or two black-bordered yellow bands, is conspicuous, 

 as is C. hrutus with its large orange spot. Of all the Charaxes 

 larv8e with which I am acquainted none equal C. neanthes in 

 the perfection of its protective disguise. This lar^^a when at 

 rest upon the stem — its characteristic position during the last 

 two stages — is so well concealed by colour and markings that 

 it is almost impossible to detect. The small green dumpy 

 pupae of this species exactly resemble some of our berries. 



" The larvje of Acreeas buxtoui, cahira, 2^6trsea, natalicay 

 encedon, and doubledayi, as also that of Liinnas cJirysippus, use 

 no disguise, and are certainly unpalatable and avoided by 

 birds, hornets, spiders, and Mantides. 



" It is however in the larvae of moths that the cryptic char- 

 acters are chiefly seen, and, strange as it may appear, most of 

 all in those that congregate together during the day. Meta- 

 nastria acideata, for instance, exactly resemble the bark of the 

 tree upon which they rest by day, crawling up to eat the 

 leaves at night. The larvaj of Musyravia leighi also vary in 

 colour — grey, green, yellow or bi'own — according to the colour 

 of the bark or lichen upon which the hours of daylight are 

 passed. Their food is not even supplied by the leaves of the 

 tree, but by a mistletoe growing upon it. Another species of 

 Metanastria (as yet unnamed) rests by day upon the trunks of 

 trees in large patches of one hundred to two hundi-ed larvai. 

 Each patch so exactly resembles the bark that it entirely escapes 

 notice. In nearly every instance Avhere I have found them it 

 has been owing to the conspicuous appearance of the indi- 

 viduals attacked by Ichneumonidfe, and covered with their small 

 white larva?. When desirous of rearing any of these, I visit 



