June 1S93. 



PS TC HE. 



481 



EARLY STAGES OF TWO JAMAICA NYMPHALIDAE. 



BY T. D. A. COCKERELL. 



Aganisthos orion. Egg laid on under 

 side of leaf of trumpet tree, subglobose (not 

 barrel-shaped or conoid) with 18 strong ribs 

 each of which bears a row of minute but well 

 developed spines which are more or less 

 bulbous at tips; color of shell bluish white. 



Young larvae, brought by Mrs. Swainson 

 March, 1S92, presumed to be this species. 

 Length about 6 mm. Head white subtrans- 

 lucent, shiny. Body yellowish white (the 

 eighth segment above decidedly yellow) with 

 very long hairs, which arise from prominent 

 tubercles; these hairs are all minutely but 

 distinctly bristly (or barbed?), the bristles 

 (barbs) mostly alternate but toward tip of 

 hair alternate; about eight or nine hairs 

 arise from each tubercle, the central one 

 larger, more bristly and black. The thoracic 

 legs have two claws. 



Older larva from Mrs. Swainson, Bath, 

 Nov. 3. About 49 mm. long, 8 mm. broad, 

 cylindrical. Head heart-shaped, broadly 

 notched above pale brownish with a thick 

 black cross in middle of face cutting the 

 ground color into four portions ; cheeks black 



with numerous short rather pale spines, and 

 a thick black projection, 2 mm. long, blunt 

 and shiny on each side of the crown, each 

 with 5 spinules. Body beneath and abdomi- 

 nal legs red-brown; above dark red brown, 

 the thoracic legs, thoracic and anal plates 

 black ; numerous bright apple green trans- 

 verse bands above, four to each of the middle 

 segments variously broken and coalesced on 

 the others; they alternate with equally broad 

 bands of the ground color so that it might 

 equally well be described as green above 

 transversely banded with brown. There is a 

 narrow mid-dorsal green band, and on the 

 middle segments two green spots in front of 

 each spiracle; also a minute green point and 

 a black patch in the subdorsal region. The 

 spines branch at their summits and are 

 not centrally produced beyond, the radiate 

 branches being longer than the spines. The 

 spines are pale yellow but the branches of 

 the dorsal spine are black. The following 

 table, in which the arabic numerals indicate 

 the number of branches of each spine, will 

 show their general disposition : — 



Body Segments I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII 



Dorsal 



4 4 4 4 



4446 



Subdorsal 



Lateral 



244 

 1 212 



4 4 4 4 3 4 



212 12 1 2 1 1 1 2 



2 4-5 



Gynaecia dirce. Larva about 30 mm. upper external margin a Ion- slender 

 long. Head shiny black, with five or six spine, broader and truncate at tip. whitish 

 short white spines on each side, and at each with brown end and beset with scattered 



