species of Western Pacific lilwpalocera. 365 



pieces of cork, to which I had gummed scarlet, blue, 

 black, yellow, and white papers. Those placed on 

 scarlet and white changed to rosy-pink chrysalids, those 

 on blue and yellow to green, and those on black to very 

 dark green. The chrysalids of Papilio Godeffvoyi have 

 a thinner shell, and are more delicate than those of 

 Papilio SehvieUzi, and in consequence they were probably 

 more susceptible to rays of light, for the former were 

 more influenced by the colour of the background than 

 the latter. The newly-changed chrysalids of both 

 species were pale green, and it was not until several 

 hours had elapsed that they assumed the colour of their 

 surroundings. They are also very soft, and are covered 

 with a thin coating of some viscid substance, which 

 may have the power of absorbing refracted rays of 

 colour-light as they dry and harden. 



The Aralia grew more abundantly upon the Tongan 

 islands than at Samoa or Fiji, but I saw no signs what- 

 ever of either of these butterflies at Tongatabu, Vavua, 

 or Lefuka (the three islands of the group which we 

 visited), at which I was rather surprised, for these 

 groups are not very far apart. 



Xois Sesara, Hew. 

 This beautiful little butterfly, which appears to be 

 confined entirely to the Fijian Islands, is usually to be 

 seen by the sides of paths in the bush, or in moderately 

 open spots in the forest where the ground is overgrown 

 with a thin carpeting of a species of couch-grass, upon 

 which its larvae feed. It flies in a weak uncertain 

 manner, and frequently alights upon a blade of grass or 

 upon a flower. I watched the females time after time in 

 the hope of seeing them deposit their eggs, but never 

 detected them doing so; so I came to the conclusion 

 that they are dropped as the butterflies fly over the 

 grass. Of course I was very anxious to find the larvae, 

 and had many a long and unavailing hunt for them ; 

 and it was not until the afternoon of August 2nd, 1884, 

 that my labours were crowned with success. In a 

 certain pathway through the bush, near Suva, there was 

 a small open spot where the grass grew in patches, and 

 here X. Sesara were flying in considerably numbers, and 

 many of them looked as if they were dropping their eggs ; 

 so, thinking this was a likely place, I went down on my 

 hands and knees and tore the grass up by the roots, and 



