246 JOURNAL, BOMBA Y NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



Larva. — Gregarious living on a 

 web ; food plant usually A Ibizzia mo- 

 luccana. 



Skin somewhat rough greenish yel- 

 low or green, with yellowish green 

 lateral line ; head glistening black. 



Pupa, — Usually found spun up 

 close together in considerable numbers, 

 usually blackish brown, sometimes 

 pale olivaceous brown with darker 

 mottlings ; rarely pale green. 



Imago.— Larger. Average $ wet 

 form. 40-m. $ dry form. 42-m. 



More constant in markings. Costa 

 of forewings usually yellow with 

 black scales ; almost always with 

 three spots in the cell on under sur- 

 face of forewings (53 out of 55). In 

 pronounced dry weather form the 

 large quadrate chocolate spot on under 

 surface of forewings touches the apex 

 and outer margin. 



Larva. — Solitary ; usual food plant 

 the " Madras Thorn, " Piihecolobium 

 dulce . 



Skin smooth pale apple green 

 with whitish green lateral line ; head 

 green, the same colour as the body. 



Pupa. — Solitary ; pale green, very 

 rarely pale brownish green. 



Imago. — Smaller. Average $ wet 

 form. 35-m. 9 dry form. 38-m. 



Variable. Costa of forewings usu- 

 ally black or with many black scales 

 (13 out of 16 examined") the black of 

 the outer border sometimes carried 

 along inner margin. Never with more 

 than two spots in cell on under sur- 

 face of forewing. Sometimes two on 

 one wing and one on the other. 

 Chocolate markings of dry season 

 form linear or triangular with base 

 on costa rarely reaching the apex 

 or outer margin. 



The angulated inner border of the black outer margin of the forewing is too 

 variable in both species to afford a useful character for separating them. The 

 other species of this group in Ceylon is 1'erias sari ; Mr. E. Ernest Green 

 informs me that " it is well characterized by the single black streak in the cell 

 on underside of forewing and by the more highly arched costa ". It is widely 

 distributed but much rarer than either the above. He also writes : — " The eggs 

 (of T. silhetana) are usually deposited more in the form of a dense cluster 

 rather than in definite rows. Bred specimens occasionally have scattered 

 orange scales on the costal area (upper side). The larvae are very commonly 

 found on Cassia alata and P. dulce. T. liecabe also feeds on various species of 

 Cassia." 



N. MANDERS, Lt.-Col., R.A.M.C. 



Colombo, March 1910. 



No. XXXII.— A GIANT SUNFLOWER (HELIANTHUS ANNUUS, Linn.) 



The seed was sown in a bed in my garden on the 4th of July last. The 

 soil was very loose ; in fact this once formed a pit into which all the refuse 



