104 



THE ENTOMOLOGIST S RECORD. 



they fed. They were found feeding on various stunted species of grass 

 which were growing on the exposed chalk hillside. For packing for 

 the post, Dactylis glomerata was used, and upon that they were feeding 

 as well. The food usually given in the books is Holcns lariatus, of 

 which some was sent in the tin box. Examples of the larva were 

 given to Mr. Sich, and he tells me that they fed readily on the very 

 common Poa annua as well as Anthoxanthnm odoratum. Mr. Sich also 

 called my attention to the fact that the larva of this species had four 

 pairs of abdominal claspers like C. raespititieUa. The larvae, which I 

 had in my glass-topped observation boxes, were extremely restless, seldom 

 remaining long on the food, although it was frequently renewed. 

 About the beginning of May, I noticed one larva had fastened its 

 case lengthways along the edge of a blade of grass, the mouth opening 

 being securely closed up, no doubt on account of the recumbent 

 position exposing the contained larva too much. A slit had been 

 made along the case, and the larva was in the act of fastening the 

 cuticle of the inner portion of the leaf outside the gap it had made. 

 The two edges of the gap were fastened down on the cuticle, the outside 

 of the cuticle becoming the inside of the case. The whole case thus 

 enlarged in diameter was afterwards cut out, but, for a day or two, the 

 ends remained very irregular, from the, as yet ill-formed, new mouth 

 and anal opening, and from the projection beyond of the irregular ends 

 of the piece, I was going to say inserted, but I should rather say 

 placed on the gap. By May 21st, one was beginning to pupate, and 

 by May 30th, many had pupated, but some were still feeding very 

 slowly. Although great care and supervision was taken, I did not rear , 

 one; a good proportion died, or were destroyed by ichneumons, while 

 those which did pupate were not strong enough to go through the last 

 and greatest series of metamorphoses. On the occasion of the South 

 London Entomological Society's Field Meeting at Reigate, this year, 

 June 24th, 1905, Mr. Sich met with examples of the imago. On that 

 outing, I was unable to collect, but the following week I went again to 

 Reigate and managed to capture several imagines in good condition. 

 Neither of us have succeeded in obtaining ova. 



On the protective taste of pupa of Papilio (Laertias) philenor. 



By CECIL FLOEBSHEIM, B.A., F.Z.S., F.E.S. 



That Papilio philenor is protected by its taste from insectivorous 

 birds in its imaginal state, is, I believe, well known. It is one of the 

 Aristolochia-ieeding butterflies, and, according to Weismann, is 

 imitated on account of its inedibility by the black variety of the female 

 of Papilio tiirmts. Other sexually dimorphic Papilios, such as Papilio 

 asterias (whose representatives further north are alike in the general 

 coloration of both sexes) have probably become so for the same reason. 

 An experience of mine with the pupa of P. philenor, this autumn, 

 makes me think that the protective taste of the species may extend to 

 this period of the insect's existence also. On leaving the country for 

 London, early in October, I placed thirty-one pupae of Papilio asterias, 

 and twenty-nine of Pajnlio philenor, in one of the special cages which 

 I have had constructed for keeping pupfe in out-of-doors. This I 

 suspended from the roof of my butterfly-house, about four feet from 



