Rhopalocera from the Australian region. 139 
of the plant. There may be a dozen clumps of grass 
or sugar-cane growing close to each other, and to 
all intents and purposes exactly identical to the human 
eye, but larvee will only be found perhaps on two of them, 
while the other ten will be entirely untouched. Upon one 
occasion, by the side of a path through the bush near 
Suva, I noticed seven clumps of, I think, wild sugar- 
cane growing about a yard apart. The first plant had 
been much eaten, and a very superficial glance disclosed 
a number of larve, chrysalids, and empty chrysalis 
cases. The next two plants were untouched, but the 
fourth was very much eaten; and, in addition to full 
erown larve and chrysalids, I counted upon the under- 
side of one of the leaves near its tip, no less than 
twenty-six small larve and fourteen ova. The other 
three plants were intact. It is unaccountable why some 
of these plants should be selected and the others passed by 
when, as I have before remarked, to an ordinary observer 
there does not appear to be a bit of difference between 
them. Upon these same plants, which were so tasteful 
to M. leda, Lalso noticed larvee of Pamphila anqustula, 
Herr.-Schaff., but they did not occur upon the others. 
Notwithstanding that so many young larve and ova 
occurred upon a single leaf, I should not on that account 
call the species gregarious ; for the numbers were, with- 
out doubt, the offspring of several females, as the young 
larvee were of different sizes. It should perhaps be called 
semi-gregarious, for | watched several females deposit- 
ing ova, and found that they usually laid from five to 
seven, rarely more. Asa rule it was not an uncommon 
thing to find seven or eight full-grown larve, or a like 
number of chrysalids, upon one plant. The larve are 
very easy to see, for they generally rest on the midrib 
on the underside of a leaf close to where they have last 
fed, and do not crawl down and hide themselves among 
the lower stems. ‘They feed during the day and _ pro- 
bably by night also. When ful! grown they descend to 
a lower part of the plant, and attach themselves to a 
pad of silk spun on the midrib of the underside of a 
leaf. The chrysalids are easily found by moving the 
stems aside. They do not appear to suffer from the 
attacks of ichneumons as all the larve and chrysalids I 
took produced perfect butterflies. But I have found 
fresh chrysalids, which have just assumed that state, 
