MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 701 
No, XIII.—THE LIFE-HISTORY OF MYCALESIS (CALYSISME) 
SUBDITA, Moore. 
A female, of the wet-season form, was captured April 24th, 1900, and 
put in a large French plum bottle with some of the food plant (guinea- 
grass). 
Weather showery, sometimes heavy rain, Forty eggslaid on the 26th-27th, 
and began hatching May 2nd. Some of the eggs were laid on the food plant, 
others on the side of the bottle. Eggs pale green, very small, translucent, 
almost circular ; the larve generally eat the egg-shell on emergence, Young 
larve light green from ingested food, head large in proportion to the body 
and very black. 
May 5th—The larvae have grown considerably, the largest 3”, pale green with 
two black spines on the head and tail, 
May 11th—The largest larve are now an inch long, pale green with darker 
green dorsal line deepening at head and tail to purplish-black ; there is also an 
indication of a pale spiracular line ; larvee somewhat spindle-shaped. 
May 14th—The larve change their skins every four days, and their appear- 
ance now is very different from that described above. Length 13”, somewhat 
pale pinkish-brown with darker »rown dorsal line more pronounced towards 
the tail ; ill-defined paler spiracular and darker supra-spiracular line ; shorter 
and darker diagonal lines passing forwards and backwards and touching these 
longitudinal lines give a reticulated appearance, Head, dark pinkish-brown ; 
Spines, the same ; both legs and prolegs same colour as the body. 
May 16th—Larva when full fed nearly two inches in length, dull dirty- 
brown with disappearance of nearly all markings and lines, 
May 17th—Pupa attached to grass by the tail suspended head downwards ; 
the larva remains suspended for nearly twenty-four hours before the final 
ecdysis, and then turns to bright apple-green and remains this colour before 
changing finally to dull brown two days before emergence, 
The first insect hatched May 24th. There were twelve males and twenty- 
eight females out of the batch of eggs. A considerable number were 
placed under mosquito netting over growing patches of the food plant: 
but unfortunately they did not breed, All the insects were of the rain- 
season form showing no variation, The weather during this time was as 
follows :— 
April 25—Showery. 
29—Very heavy rain, 
» 380—Rain. 
May 1—Showery. 
»  2-—Very hot and sultry, rain in the evening. 
a 3-13—Fine ond very hot, 
(During this time the food-plant was kept in water, and consequently the 
atmosphere inside the plum jar was probably saturated with vapour, as’ the 
” 
