ACHERONTIA. 57 



dot ringed with yellowish ; a narrow, pure white dorsal stripe, 

 a broad black subdorsal stripe and a broader white lateral 

 stripe on segments 2 to 4, the subdorsal stripe crossed by 

 a narrow white transverse stripe at the junctions of the 

 secondary rings, all these stripes very sharply defined ; a 

 greyish-green saddle-shaped marking on 2, below the subdorsal 

 stripe ; seven whitish oblique stripes, edged above with 

 purple, on 5 to 11, that on 11 running across 12 to base of 

 horn, the others confined to one segment each. Horn of the 

 body colour ; true legs shining black ; prolegs smoky-black, 

 the feet with long black hooklets ; clasper of the body colour, 

 with a black triangular- shaped mark at the upper edge. 

 Spiracles broadly oval, velvet black with the upper and lower 

 edges tipped with yelloAv. 



Green form : Head green, with a broad, shining black stripe 

 down the cheek ; body grass-green tinged with yellow and 

 sparsely dotted with dark green on the dorsum of segments 5 

 to 11 ; oblique stripes yellow edged above with broad purple ; 

 horn green with the tubercles paler green, prolegs and 

 claspers green. 



Yellow form : Head and body bright canary-yellow with 

 markings as in the green form. Length 100-125 mm. ; 

 breadth 15 mm. 



Pupa. — Stout in build, head broadly rounded ; antenna 

 shorter than fore leg ; surface smooth and shining ; base 

 of tongue prominently raised, with a series of 12 short 

 transverse ridges on each side resembling the teeth of a 

 coarse file ; sculpturing on segment 4 consisting of a raised, 

 pear-shaped area on each side of the dorsal line, the broad 

 end laterad, the surface concave and dull and edged 

 anteriorly by a sharp ridge ; five well-developed, parallel, 

 antespiracular ridges on 9 to 11, the longest just in front 

 of the spiracle and the others decreasing in length frontad. 

 Spiracle of 2 covered by a transverse oblong lobe extending 

 from the front margin of 3 ; remaining spiracles oval, the 

 surface rising inwards to a more narrow oval containing the 

 central slit, which has narrow, raised edges. Cremaster 

 broadly triangular, the dorsal surface coarsely, longitudinally 

 rugose, the tip ending in two short teeth, each bearing a 

 bristle. Colour deep chestnut, dorsum of segments 4 to 6 

 and cremaster nearly black ; spiracles black. Length 57 mm. ; 

 breadth 14 mm. 



Habits. — Eggs laid singly on the underside of leaves of 

 a great variety of food-plants, belonging to the families 

 Solanacea?, Verbenacese, Leguminosse, Oleacese, Bignoniac3ae, 

 Labiatse, etc. The young larva eats the egg-shell after 

 hatching and rests on the midrib or on a vein on the 

 underside of a leaf. It usually eats the cast skin after 

 moulting, rests in the typical Sphinx attitude, and when 



