170 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



at the South London Entomological Society on Nov. 14th, 1895, 

 and during the meeting deposited an immature egg-capsule. 

 The other, also from Covent Garden, was taken in 1894. Both 

 are in my collection. 



No doubt both were imported in cases of bananas. 



The reproductions are natural size. 



C. A. Briggs. 



FUNGI PARASITIC ON BUTTERFLIES.* 

 By J. C. RicKARD. 



In the course of an examination of the wing-scales of Pieris 

 hrassicce, I was surprised to notice the occurrence of large 

 numbers of microscopic fungi among them ; as this kind of 

 parasitism was new to me, I looked through some thirty or forty 

 volumes to see if I could find anything recorded about them, 

 and being unable to find the slightest reference, I thought a few 

 remarks concerning these organisms would be interesting to 

 entomologists. 



The scales of the upper surface of the wings of the male 

 Pieris hrassicce are long and narrow, and have either a single 

 notch or from two to four pectinations at the free extremity ; 

 the fungi bear a considerable resemblance to these in form 

 and colour, and occur in such large numbers that in some 

 instances they outnumber the scales as seen in the field of the 

 microscope. The scales of the female butterfly do not resemble 

 those of the male, as they are much shorter and broader in pro- 

 portion. This sex, in this and the other species I have examined, 

 is apparently free from the parasites, as also are the under 

 sides of the wings in both sexes. 



I am afraid I cannot describe these fungi in technical terms ; 

 but the diagram shows a rhizoid supporting the body or peri- 

 dium, at the free end of which are two rounded lobes separated 

 from each other and forming a kind of notch, from the middle 

 of which rises a fine stalk bearing a mass of spores enclosed in 

 a sort of bag, thus forming a sporangium. 



The absence of the parasite from the female butterflies cannot 

 be accidental, and presents a curious physiological problem. 

 Nine females of this species were examined without finding any 

 of the fungi ; on the other hand, I examined nineteen males and 

 found every one of them to be infected. 



A somewhat similar fungus is found on the males of Pieris 

 rapce^ but in reduced numbers; this is much shorter and 

 broader than that of P. hrassicce, and appears to be wrinkled 

 longitudinally, thus presenting an appearance almost like the 



'•' Paper read before the Cambridge Entomological and Natural History 

 Society, March 6th, 1896. 



