576 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. X. 



on the old leaves which the larva eats and prefers. Only in one case 

 are the eggs laid ?i,ny way but singly, namely, in the case of 

 P. demoUon, Cramer, mentioned in our former paper (Journal Bombay 

 Natural History Society, Vol. V, p. 367, n. 75, 1890). The larva 

 when full-grown lies in the centre of the top of the leaf along the 

 mid- rib. 



The Ornithoptera Group. 

 The larvse of the three species in this group are so much alike that 

 it requires some care to distinguish them from each other. We have 

 described them all in our former paper (Journal Bombay Natural 

 History Society, Vol. V, p. 361, 1890), They are soft, fat, blackish 

 caterpillars, with six longitudinal rows of fleshy processes more or less 

 tipped with red or pink. That of 0. minos, Cramer, is of course much 

 larger than the others when full grown, but the only prominent distin- 

 guishing mark at an earlier stage is a diagonal band of pinkish- white on 

 each side, crossing the 7th and 8th segments. P. hector, Liun93us, wants 

 this entirely (except that occasionally there are some pink spots), while 

 P.aristolochice, Fabricius, has a belt of white encircling the body at the 

 7th seo-ment. In Canara they all feed on AristolocMa indica, a creeper 

 with bitter leaves, supposed to cure snake-bite. It generally withers up 

 entirely in the cold season, but the root remains, and the butterflies 

 seem to lay their eggs on the dry twigs to await the arrival of fresh 

 leaves in June. In the Deccan A. bracteata serves as a good substitute 

 for A, indica, and we have found larvse on an allied plant in a garden. 

 Thepupse of the three butterflies are alike in their general form, — stout, 

 somewhat flattened, and dilated in the middle, with the thorax and 

 head thrown back ; but P. Jiectot' and P. aristolochice, are more angular 

 than 0. minos, and have pairs of flattened tubercles, or follicles, on the 

 abdominal segments. The colour is usually light brown, but 0. minos 

 has always a conspicuous yellow saddle^mark on the back. These 

 three species are protected by an offensive smell, and doubtless taste 

 similarly also (we have not tasted them) both in the larval and perfect 

 states. Accordingly they seek no concealment. The larvse are 

 always conspicuous by their colour, resting on the stems and under the 

 leaves of the plant, and the butterflies rest with their wings expanded. 

 Hundreds are destroyed, however, by a small ichneumouj which 

 seems to have no objection to the taste. 



