Corzxso.—0On Danais berenice. 971 
the letter which accompanied them, Mr. Huntley says :—“ I send you some 
caterpillars gathered from ‘cotton plants’ in a neighbouring garden, grown 
from seed sown about two years ago. My attention was first drawn to 
them yesterday by a lady in the garden, she having gathered at least forty 
of them on her cherished row of ‘cotton planis. The most extraordinary 
thing seems to be that, although they made a large quantity of vegetable 
débris (more than a silk-worm), the leaves of the *cotton plants' show no 
signs of having been eaten; and, further, there is nothing in the neighbour- 
hood of the said plants upon which the caterpillars could possibly feed. 
These I send you I gathered myself from the plants—breaking off the twigs 
on which the caterpillars were clinging without disturbing them. I send 
also with them the important parts of the plant from which they were 
gathered. I shall be glad to know whether the caterpillars will eat what is 
in the box.” 
Unfortunately, when I received the box on the following day, the 26th, 
there was scarcely a vestige of vegetable matter remaining in it, save the 
woody fibrous parts of the small branches or twigs, and the ends (petioles) 
of a few hard leaf stalks, with a very small bit of a green capsule having 
the remains of soft spines, somewhat resembling that of a young one of 
Datura stramonium; and also a large amount of “ vegetable débris " (fæces). 
Of the four larve, however, three were alive and very active, apparently 
ravenously hungry. I immediately procured them leaves of various plants, 
oth indigenous and exotic—viz., sow thistle (Sonchus oleraceus ), ngaio 
(Myoporum letum), Cape gooseberry (Physalis), Arthropodium cirrhatum, 
Dodonea viscosa, Entelea arborescens, Coprosma lucida, Veronica (species), 
Acacia (species), Geranium, roses, laurustinus, laburnum, flowering currant, 
Cordyline, and of clovers and grasses ; but nothing I offered suited them— 
they would not eat. 
These larve appeared to be of gregarious habit; two of them were 
much larger than their companion, the third, being about two inches long, 
and of pretty uniform thickness throughout, each having six fore-legs (vers) 
and eight hind ones; the body smooth, transversely and alternately striped 
or banded with bright yellow lilae and white, each having in all eleven yellow 
stripes, while on each side of the yellow stripe was (1) white, (2) narrow 
lilac line, (3) white, (4) broad lilac band nearly a line in width, (5) white, 
(6) narrow lilac line, (7) white, (8) yellow; so that between each of the 
eleven yellow transverse bands, were seven other bands and lines of lilac 
and white, which were clearly distinguishable when the animal stretched 
itself out in erawling; the feet and belly of the larve were of a dark-blue 
almost a blue-blackish colour; the head was regularly striped across with 
lilac and white; it had two antennes or horns near its anterior end, which 
were also bluish-black and nine lines long, cylindrical, soft and flexible ; it 
