28 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol, XI. 



Habits.— The habits are identical with those of the last two in the 

 larval and pupal stages. The imago, however, is generally found in 

 dry situations on the slopes of hills in rather open jungle, where the 

 food-plant is found* 



1 84. Badamia exelamationis, Fabricius. 



Probably the commonest skipper in the district. It may be seen 

 at any season of the year, resting on the underside of leaves, or flitting 

 about flowers ; in some years it is, however, less abundant than in 

 others. It is excessively rapid in its flight, and is consequently diffi- 

 cult to capture on the wing ; but it rests often, when it falls an easy 

 prey to the net. About the month of April, one year, we have seen 

 the insect so plentiful as to be put up in veritable clouds in the course 

 of one's walks through the jungles ; the food-plant was then in young 

 leaf. The food-plant, Terminalia belerica, Roxb., was in this particular 

 year denuded of its leaves, and it is one of the largest as well as 

 one of the commonest trees in our jungles ; the larva was in such 

 quantities that, after eating all the available food on one tree, 

 it would wander down the stem in such numbers as to hide the 

 bark from view ; each leaf of every surrounding tree later on 

 contained a pupa. 



Larva. — Similar in shape to that of H. chabrona, Plotz, but 

 slimmer and more moth-like. The colour is bright yellow, more or 

 less thickly banded with black ; the head is yellow with two parallel 

 lines of black spots, often coalescing into lines across the face ; it is 

 broader than long and somewhat depressed in the centre of the vertex. 

 It is sometimes found feeding on Combretum externum. Length 34 mm. 



Pupa. — Similar in shape to the foregoing, but slimmer, with a long 

 triangular cremaster, knob-shaped spiracular expansions on segment 2, 

 a knob-shaped boss in front of the head between the eyes, and a slight 

 transverse ridge parallel to the front margin of each segment ; 

 thorax more humped than in any of the foregoing species. 

 Colour brown, with dorsal abdominal black spots ; wing cases 

 nearly white ; surface shiny and covered with a white powder. 

 Length 24 mm. 



Habits. — Egg laid on young shoots. Young larva makes a 

 cylindrical tight cell at the edge of the leaf ; the later cells are like 

 those of II. chromus, Cramer. 



