The Life History of Gerydus chinensis. 3 



the creatures seem to make little attempt to escape till 

 they are actually bitten, when struggling is useless. 

 When not engaged in feeding, the larvae rest amongst the 

 Aphides or crawl leisurely about between or over them, 

 and the Aphides do likewise, the larvae being sometimes 

 covered with them. The eggs of the butterfly, too, are 

 often hidden under a mass of Aphides. 



When nearly full-grown the larvae lose most of their 

 sparse hairs and their colours fade, and the bands and four 

 blotches on the seventh and eighth segments become less 

 distinct. When about to pupate they walk about at quite 

 a fair rate of speed, and having chosen a spot, spin a few 

 threads a little distance from head and tail. My larvae 

 pupated on a piece of bark, one putting a band round its 

 middle and pupating horizontally, the other vertically and 

 without a band, though both had the threads (not con- 

 nected to the pupae) at head and tail. The tail of the 

 pupa is cut off squarely, forming a disc, thus securing a 

 good hold, probably sufficient without the band round the 

 middle. It seems to be affixed with some secretion, not 

 actual threads. There is a small process each side of the 

 third segment from the tail. The pupal state lasts about 

 ten days. Both larvae and pupae strike one as being small 

 compared with the size of the butterfly. I have only 

 found the larvae feed on two species of Aphis, but they 

 doubtless eat other kinds. One was slate-coloured with 

 white efflorescence, the other greenish with four dark-green 

 patches, some of them being fringed with white, probably 

 moulted skin. 



If the butterflies were only numerous enough they 

 would certainly prove a blessing to the gardener, for many 

 trees here, especially the lichee (a fruit tree) suffer very 

 much from "bugs " of all sorts which, even when they do 

 not entirely eat away the leaves, seem to blight them or 

 cause them to shrivel up. The larval state lasts about 

 fifteen days, and I reckoned on the average, from first to 

 last, the larva would eat some twenty Aphides per day, 

 but it would require many larvae to make much impres- 

 sion on the crowds of Aphides one sees ; perhaps a yard 

 of bamboo stem two or three inches in diameter being 

 absolutely covered with these disgusting insects. 



I am not sure, but have some reason to think that the 

 larvae tend to assimilate in colour to the Aphides they 

 happen to be feeding on. At first, as the eggs were laid 



