168 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



Notes on the Butterfly, labnmus evagortis, Don. — At 

 the December meeting of the Field Naturalists' Club, I brought 

 forward what to me was a very curious case of apparent 

 sociability between ants and the larvae of this pretty little 

 butterfly. The matter was, I found, known to a few members ; 

 but none of them were able to clear up the singular habits of 

 these insects, the general opinion being that the caterpillars were 

 dependent for their well-being on their friends, the ants. Since 

 last meeting I have had an opportunity of getting specimens of 

 the larvie, and watching their growth. In their natural habitat, 

 they were found on poor, stunted, and almost leafless specimens 

 of the silver wattle (Acacia dealbata), and in every instance, where 

 noticed, numbers of small black ants, about 3-i6ths of an inch in 

 length, were running up and down the shrubs, and about and 

 over the caterpillars, even where there were only chrysalides, the 

 ants were just as numerous ; and I found, on further search, it 

 was quite useless to look for the larvte on bushes where no ants 

 were to be seen. Examining the larv?e closely, no reason for 

 this extraordinary behaviour could be seen, no visible moisture 

 for the ants to clear away being exuded by the caterpillars. I 

 determined to take a few specimens home and rear them, if 

 possible, away from the ants, in order to test the theory before 

 mentioned, and see if it would make any difference in their 

 development. These, perhaps, were not fed quite so regularly as 

 they should have been, and all but one have, up to the present, 

 gone through the chrysalis stage and become perfect insects, 

 apparently none the worse for their removal from the attentions 

 of the ants. The length of time spent in the chrysalis stage was 

 twenty to twenty-two days. It was very curious to watch the 

 little butterflies on emerging from their chrysalises. I timed one 

 or two, and found that in quarter of an hour from the time of 

 emergence, their wings had expanded to their full size, and in 

 another half-an-hour they were able to make use of them to fly. 

 Another point which is rather singular about these butterflies is 

 the amount of chloroform they can inhale before it overcomes 

 them ; for their size, they are the most diflicult insect to kill by 

 this means that I know of. From these observations I think 

 that the absence of the ants is no hindrance to their proper 

 development, and whatever the functions of the ants may be, can 

 only be found out by observations on the spot, as it would be 

 impossible to remove them with the larvse. I shall be glad if any 

 member, observing similar cases either with these or other 

 insects, will forward notes on the subject to the Editor of the 

 Naturalist, and thus increase the value of our journal as a medium 

 for the exchange of opinions and ideas. — F. G. A. Barnard, 

 Kew, 8th January, 1889. 



