( 86 ) 

 Wednesday, November 20th, 1912. [cxix 



Exhibitions. 



West African Rhopalocera and H ymenoptera. — Mr.W. A. 

 Lam born exhibited (1) a small company of the Nymphaline 

 butterfly Euphaedra ravola, Hew., which he had bred in August 

 last from larvae found together under one leaf near Oni Camp, 

 Lagos. He said that he had bred up altogether five other com- 

 panies from larvae of this species, and all the imagines turned 

 out to be precisely the same. The larvae were purple-coloured, 

 with a broad horizontal fringe of hairy yellowish white bristles. 



He showed also a single bred Euphaedra thernis, Hiibn., 

 and stated though this butterfly looks almost exactly the 

 same as E. ravola except for Bcarlel patches at the base of the 

 wings, so that there has been some speculation as to whether 

 the two might not be forms of the same species, yet the larva 

 was quite different in colour from that of E. ravola, being 

 pale green with the same fringe of horizontal bristles, and it 

 fed on a different food-plant. 



Other larvae which he bad bred up presenting similar gene- 

 ral characteristics were those of Euphaedra ruapina, Hew., 

 Ettryphura plautilla, Hew., Catuna oberthuri, Karsch, C. 

 angustata, Feld., and Dieatogyna /iron in, Stand., all of 

 which, except E. ruapina, with which he bad not been success- 

 ful, changed to a bright green colour about twenty-four hours 

 before pupation. 



In the cast- of the gregarious larvae, K ravola and both 

 species of Cat mm. this colour change must have a procryptio 

 effect The bright purple larvae of E. ravola, the brown 

 larvae of Cufuita angustata, and the bluish white larvae of 

 Catuna oberthilri were always found bidden to some extent 

 under leaves, and the change in colour should be of great 

 vain-' as a means whereby they were rendered less conspicuous 

 when it became necessary for them to wander in search of a 

 spot suitable for pupation. 



The pupae of all these butterflies were light green, 

 exx] 



These various facts, indicating a close relationship between 

 these species, afforded interesting confirmation of the sound- 



