Lepidoptera observed in Mhow. 407 



but partly developed, and I have bred specimens which 

 did not leave the pupa-case, but remained attached to 

 it by abdomen, filling it with eggs before having had 

 intercourse with a male. The mouth appears rudi- 

 mentary and useless. Wings large and extending beyond 

 extremity of abdomen. On issuing from pupa-case the 

 abdomen is full of perfectly-developed eggs with hard 

 shells. Should the female be confined alone the eggs 

 will be deposited, but will not produce larvae ; on ad- 

 mitting the male fertile eggs will be produced. But 

 how does the seminal fluid penetrate the dense shells of 

 the eggs and reach to the bottom of the mass of eggs 

 contained in the ovaries ? The whole abdomen of the 

 female is simply a conglomerated mass of eggs, no room 

 being required for digestive organs, as the imago never 

 feeds from birth to death. 



Seven-eighths of the larvae I bred proved to be females. 

 The male imago has wings much shorter than abdomen, 

 but is capable of flight, is very sluggish, and simulates 

 death when handled. When examined immediately 

 after issuing from pupa-case the extremity of the abdo- 

 men is seen to be furnished with an easily detachable 

 tuft of fine hair of a light brown colour, tipped with 

 dark brown. 



Lebeda Buddha, Lefebvre (PI. XV., figs. 3—3 b). 



Mhow, August 22nd, 1881. 



The larva feeds on the leaves of the Mahwa tree, and 

 bears a considerable resemblance in appearance and 

 habits to that of Megasoma venustim, but the markings 

 on the back are quite distinct, being irregularly oval 

 velvety brown patches, containing four blue papillae 

 armed with long hairs. They never have the ) ( (half- 

 moon) marks so characteristic of M. venustiim. General 

 ground colour of larva dark grey. A narrow crimson 

 line across dorsum of 2nd segment, behind a tuft of 

 dense short hair ; lateral margins clothed with tufts of 

 long simple hairs of a whitish brown colour. Very few 

 hairs with expanded extremities are to be seen, except 

 in the dense dorsal tuft, and two or three in dots along 

 the lateral margins. These larvae are apparently much 

 more rare than those of M. venustum, and I had difficulty 

 in feeding them, as, strange to say, they obstinately 



