236 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



S. hegisipjms of Sumatra and Burma, and the Bornean S. lotis 

 with the ground colour of the wings white. 



Java lies under the equator, and one would have expected to 

 find its butterflies brilliantly coloured ; but there must be some 

 cause which produces the phseism adverted to. The only sugges- 

 tion which has occurred to my mind, and it is purely hypo- 

 thetical, is whether there is any connexion between this 

 duskiness of the insects and the murkiness of the atmosphere, 

 the result of the irruption of its numerous active volcanoes. 



NOTES ON THE LIFE-HISTOEY OF PSYCHE 



VILLOSELLAS^ 



By J. Jenner Weir, F.L.S., &c. 



The males of P. villosella emerge from the cases about the 

 latter end of June or during July, leaving the empty pupa skin 

 projecting from the case about one-third of an inch ; the female 

 in most instances does not leave the case, but clears the emergent 

 end by pressing herself out about a quarter of an inch ; the male 

 appears to be able to fertilize the female by forcing his body into 

 the case, and thus reaching the female. The abdomen is 

 singularly extensile, increasing to more than double its length 

 at emergence. 



The female, after fertilization, withdraws herself within the 

 case, and deposits her eggs at the bottom of the old pupa skin, 

 where they remain until the young are hatched. I could not 

 ascertain how many days the eggs remained before the young 

 appeared, but should think about ten or twelve, probabl}^ varying 

 somewhat according to the heat of the weather. The old pupa 

 skin remains in the case after the appearance of the young, but I 

 could not find any trace of the skin of the female imago, and I 

 am inclined to think that it is eaten by the young larvae. From 

 some of mine the young swarmed out of the case at the emergent 

 end, which, I may here remark, is the reverse of the feeding end. 

 Others I cut open, and released the young; they were at once 

 very active, and moved quickly about, their bodies held at an 

 angle of 45". I could not see that they used any prolegs ; 

 locomotion was effected entirely bj'^ their true legs. They at 

 once begiui to make themselves cases, and in three or four hours 

 were all furnished with clothing; for this purpose I supplied 

 them with fine strips of heath and small pieces of moss. Althougli 

 generally found on heath, they seem in their earlier stages to 

 prefer more succulent food, such as bramble, strawberry, white- 

 thorn, and sloe. 



* Abstract of n paper read before the S. L. E. and N. H. S., Aug. 13th, 1891. 



