FSYCHE. 



THE LARVAE OF THE AUSTRALIAN EUCLEIDAE. 



[An 



BY HARRISON' G. DYAR, WASHINGTON, D. C. 



al address of the retiring president of tlie Cambridge Entomological Club, [4 January. iS 



In looking over the figures of exotic 

 lepidopterous larvae that have been pub- 

 lished, I think one of the most curious 

 and apparently inexplicable forms is the 

 Doratifera vulnerans of Lewin. This 

 Eucleid is described as possessing the 

 powder of everting eight little tufts of 

 stinging spines which are concealed 

 when the larva is not irritated. I was 

 at a loss to imagine the origin or mech- 

 anism of this structure and it was there- 

 fore with much pleasure that I received 

 from Mr. E. A. C. Olive of Qiieensland 

 a specimen of a species showing the 

 eversible spines. 



The group seems confined to Austra- 

 lia. I have examined the descriptions 

 of the species of India for anything 

 analogous, but without success. The 

 Indian larvae are similar to our own, 

 the Sisyrosea type seeming to predom- 

 inate, with a few Euclea-like and smooth 

 forms (the latter not to be interpreted 

 from the figures). There is nothing 

 here to suggest the origin of the pecu- 

 liar structure of the Australian larvae. 



Kirby lists seventeen species of Eu- 

 cleidae from Australia in eight genera, 



of which I have seen figures of five 

 larvae of two genera. When all are 

 known, it may be found that there are 

 other types of larvae, but at present 

 there is no evidence of this. The five 

 figures show a neat gradation in char- 

 acters, apparently representing one type. 

 The one showing the greatest develop- 

 ment of the peculiar eversible spines is 

 Levvin's species. Scott figures four 

 others in which this character gradually 

 declines until the last species is without 

 horns of any kind and has become a 

 " smooth Eucleid." Evidently we have 

 here a new type of smooth Eucleid, 

 dirterent from either of the North 

 American ones, derived, I think, from 

 the true Australian type. Therefore I 

 consider the larva received from Mr. 

 Olive as typical of the Australian Eu- 

 cleidae. 



Before describing the Australian spec- 

 ies I will review the types already made 

 known. These are all represented in 

 North America. In Europe there are 

 but two species, both belonging to one 

 limited type which is better represented 

 here. In Asia, Moore has figured a good 



