86 Indian Museum Notes. [ Vol. IL ■ 



[Anthercea mylUta) whose larvae can only be raised in captivity when 

 they are frequently watered (see footnote to page 160 of the first volume 

 of these Notes). Even if this should turn out to be the case, however, with 

 T. Jmttoni, it would seem of doubtful utility to employ mulberry leaves 

 for rearing- it, when they might with no greater expenditure of labor be 

 utilized for rearing one of the Bombyx varieties which are already domes- 

 ticated and which produce a silk whose commercial value is undoubted. 



The figure of the larva is copied from a colored drawing prepared by 

 the Museum artist under the direction of Mr. Wood-Mason. 



C ainected with Theophila Jiuttoni are several forms which are so 

 closely allied to it as to make it very doubtful to what extent they can 

 reasonably be looked upon as distinct. They are the following :— 



(1) Theophila religiosa {=Bomhyx religiosa, Heifer, Journ. As. Soe. 

 Beng., Vol. VI, p. 41, 1837). — This insect feeds upon the Pipal tree 

 {Ficus religiosa) in Assam. Heifer originally described it, without see- 

 ing the insect, from a figure which was sent to him, and Moore (Cat. 

 Lep. Mus. E. I. C, p. 381, 1858) writes : "After examination of 

 typical specimens of £. huttoni, and comparing them with the descrip- 

 tions of Dr. Heifer's B. religiosa, I am inclined to believe that they are 

 one and the same species." This form therefore may be neglected, 



(2) Theophila bengalensis (Hutton, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., (3), ii 

 p. 822, pi. 19, fig. 5,1864—66 ; and Journ. Agri. Hort. Soe. Ind. iii, 1871, 

 p. 125). — This form feeds upon the Artocarpus lacoocka tree, in Lower 

 Bengal, and has been also found at an elevation of 2,000 feet in Sikkim 

 upon Artocarpus chaplasha (see page 200 of Vol, I of these Notes). The 

 moth and cocoon closely resemble the typical T. huttoni from the 

 North-West Himalayas, but the larvae, as figured by Hutton, differ from 

 T. huttoni Uvysd both in being greyish white, instead of yellow mottled 

 with brown, and in having somewhat smaller spines. If this difference 

 should prove constant, T. hengalensis, feeding as it does upon a different 

 plant and living in a different locality, might be considered to constitute 

 a distinct species. For the present, however, it seems most convenient to 

 look upon it as a variety only ; and this view is supported by the fact 

 that the form which has been described as T. afinis is to a certain 

 extent intermediate between T. huttoni and T. hengalensis. 



The figure of the larva (Plate 15, fig. 4) is copied from a colored 

 drawing prepared by the Museum artist under the direction of Mr. 

 Wood-Mason. 



(3) Theophila affinis, plate 15, fig. 2 (Hutton, Journ. Agri. Hort. 

 Soc. Ind. Ill, p. 125, 1871). — This form was described by Hutton as 

 resembling T. huttoni in shape, coloration and marking, and differing 

 from it only in its smaller size and in being polyvoltine. In Chota 

 Nagpur the caterpillar feeds, like T. bengaiensis, upon the Artocarpus 



