06 LEPIDOPTEBA INDICA. 



fuscous, covered with rugosities or short semicircular tubercles, the segments rapidly 

 increasing in size to the fourth, then gradually tapering to the thirteenth, which latter 

 is about as wide as the second segment ; second segment anteriorly flesh-coloured, the 

 third entirely flesh-coloured, the seventh and eighth bearing a large dorsal flesh-coloured 

 patch, the three anal segments scutate, all the segments widely pitted and covered 

 with short but coarse black bristles, v/hich are more numerous at the sides and whitish. 

 This larva is very ugly, to be accounted for perhaps by its passing its life out of sight 

 in the interior of a fruit. In Calcutta I have reared the larva on the fruit of the 

 Randia dumetorum, Lamk., which belongs to the Madar family (Rubiacse). I once 

 found the larva in the fruit of the loquat, Eriobotria japonica, Lindl., of which it ate 

 the hard central seed or stone only. It emerged on April 4th. Messrs. F. E. Pargiter 

 and E. C. Cotes have bred it from the fruit of the guava, Psidium guava, Eaddi. Its 

 usual food appears, however, to be the fruit of the pomegranate, Punica granatum, 

 Linnaeus. 



Pupa, of the usual lycaenid shape, brown, marked with a dorsal and lateral black 

 line, the whole surface very rough, covered with tiny pits, furnished with a few short, 

 coarse bristles, which are most numerous round the sharp anterior ridge which encloses 

 the head ; the wing cases pale ochreous ; head rounded, anal segment blunt, 

 (de Niceville.) 



This butterfly resides in the larva state in the interior of the pomegranate ; the 

 caterpillars feed upon the seeds and inner part of the fruit, which is thus rendered 

 weak, and unable to support its OAvn weight, and consequently liable to have its stem 

 broken, and to fall to the ground with the first wind. This, however, would be 

 destruction to the enclosed insects, in all probability, they would find it impossible to 

 make their escape were the fruit to be sufl"ered to lie rotting upon the ground. To 

 obviate this evil, the caterpillars, when full fed, have the instinct to eat a hole (this is 

 always a hole for the larva to cast forth its dejections), about a quarter of an inch in 

 diameter, through the hard shell of the fruit, whilst it remains upon the tree ; through 

 this hole they then creep to the stem of the fruit, and spin a white web, which they 

 attach to the basal part of the fruit as well as to the stem, for about the distance of an 

 inch along the latter. This web is sufticiently strong to support the pomegranate from 

 falling after the wiiid has broken the stem near the fruit. 



From the circumstance of this specimen of the fruit exhibited having as many 

 holes in it as there were caterpillars inhabiting it, it is most probable that the web 

 thus spun is a joint production of the whole. It is curious as evidencing the instinctive 

 impulses under which each of the enclosed larvae must have acted, that, instead of 

 availing themselves of the first aperture made in the fruit, each caterpillar should have 

 l)ccu at the trouble of making a hole for itself, a circumstance which renders it the 

 more probable that all joined in spinning the web. 



