346 '^^^ Philippine Journal of Science i9ib 



was made of the date of pupation, but a female imago emerged 

 July 7, 1903, which I identified at the British Museum (Natural 

 History) as Lagyra falcigera Butl. It also agrees well with 

 Butler's figure, which is that of a female. The larva figured 

 is the only one of this species I have ever taken or seen and 

 attracts particular attention on account of its peculiar cobra- 

 like thorax.i The head is retractile and, together with seg- 

 ments 2 and 3, can be almost entirely withdrawn into segment 

 4, giving the larva the appearance of a cobralike serpent. 

 Poulton alludes to similar instances in larvse when discussing 

 protective mimicry, instances in which "the defenceless form 

 lives upon the reputation of some dangerous animal belonging 

 to another subkingdom. * * * g^ch caterpillars terrify 

 their enemies by the suggestion of a cobra-like serpent." He 

 gives as illustrations the larvse of Chaerocampa elpenor and 

 Chaerocampa porcellus.^ The particular form of protective 

 mimicry suggested by the larva of Theophila falcigera should 

 probably be classed under pseudaposematic colors.^ 



Larva. — The following description of the larva is taken from 

 my original figure: Length, full-grown about 55 millimeters. 

 Anterior or thoracic segments — namely 2, 3, 4 — broadly light 

 olive with expanded ochraceous lobes on segments 4 and 5 ; olive 

 dorsal stripe ; lateral ground color whitish olive with darker olive 

 streaks; a yellowish oblique stripe on segments 9 and 10, running 

 down the side of proleg on segment 10; caudal horn thick at 

 base and olive-colored, tapering to a slender yellowish filament 

 at the apex; spiracles black. (In this description the head is 

 taken as the first segment.) The young larva is much darker 

 in color and the caudal horn is somewhat longer. When the 

 larva is not feeding, it very often hangs from the leaf head 

 downward and in this position mimics a dead leaf. 



Butler places the present species in the genus Lagyra Walker, 

 among the Geometridse. Leech also places it among the Geo- 

 metridse, but in the genus Hyposidra Guenee. There is no doubt, 

 however, that the larva has no affinity with this family, but 

 that its proper place is among the Bombycidse, where the species 

 is placed in the British Museum (Natural History) under the 

 genus Theophila Moore, to which I have accordingly assigned it. 



Butler's type of L. falcigera, a female, came from Hakodate, 

 Hokkaido (Yezo), and there appears to be no male specimen in 



* See previous papers for nomenclature of segments. 



'The Colours of Animals. 2d ed. London (1890), 257-259, figs. 55-56. 



'See Wileman, This Journal, Sec. D (1914), 9, table I, facing p. 248. 



