582 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. X 



of the search, it must be remembered that the " Tirphal" tree is 

 studded with thorns on every branch and twig and all down the stem 

 to the roots, while the wood is so brittle that even the principal boughs 

 wdll scarcely bear the weight of a man. Add that the caterpillar 

 rests motionless on the upperside of a leaf, which is of exactly the 

 same shade of green as itself, and that it is slightly speckled with a 

 paler shade in imitation of the effect produced on the leaf by minute 

 insects eating away the soft tissue. However, with the aid of 

 laduerSj we got four larvse, of which we succeeded in rearing 

 three. Next year we did not find any, but in 1894 the butterfly was 

 unusually common, and we got several. The larva, though somewhat 

 aberrant, clearly locates the butterfly in this group. When young it is 

 spiny, as they all are, but when full-grown only two pairs of minute 

 sharp processes remain on the second and last segments. A thin, but 

 well-defined, yellow ridge, commencing at each side of the second seg- 

 ment, encircles the fifth segment, enclosing an oval space as seen from 

 above. The colour is green, faintly freckled as m.entioned above. 

 When at rest the larva often holds the head and forepart raised after 

 the manner of a Sphynx moth. The pupa is in outline a little like the 

 others of the group, but it is straighter, less angular, and entirely wants 

 the dorsal process on the thorax. The head processes are long and up- 

 turned. The back is keeled, and the sides also in a less degree. The 

 colour is a wonderful example of " protective resemblance." It con- 

 sists of two shades of green, sharply separated by the lateral keel. The 

 ventral half, which is of course uppermost, has the dark green tint of 

 the upperside of the leaf of Z, rlietsa ; while the dorsal half, like the 

 underside of the same leaf, is of a pale and dull shade. We do not 

 understand the seasons of the butterfly's appearance. It is not seen in 

 June or July, but begins to appear in August, is common by October, 

 and may be met with till the end of the year. Now the " Tirphal " 

 tree looses every leaf soon after the close of the monsoon, and remains 

 bare until the following April at least, more often till June. Wo are 

 almost forced to concladft that the Iiutterflies which we see from October 

 onwards lay their eggs on the diy trees, and that these, hatching in the 

 following June, produce the first butterflies seen in August. There 

 may then be one or even two larger broods before the trees become 

 unfit for food. (Plate YI, figs. 2, larva ; 2 a, ^^wpa). 



