THERETRA. 437 



round the spiracles ; a broad, ill-defined, greenish dorsal stripe * 

 a round, pale yellow subdorsal spot near the front margins 

 of 6 to 10 ; hind bevels of 8 to 10 dull yellow speckled with 

 black, front bevels of 9 to 11 pink mottled with brown ; 

 spiracles black ; cremaster with basal half yellowish, distal 

 half black. Length 60 mm. ; breadth 14 mm. ; tongue - 

 sheath projecting 3 mm. in front of head. 



Habits. — Food-plants : Dillenia pentagyna Roxb., D. indica 

 Linn., family Dilleniaceae ; Hibiscus mutabilis Linn., family 

 Malvaceae; Vitis Linn., family Ampelideae ; Fuchsia Linn., 

 family Onagraceae; Amorphorphallus Bl., family Aroideae. In 

 the full-fed larva the anterior segments are not so strongly 

 retractile as in others of the genus, and when in the resting 

 position the anterior segments are more contracted ventrally 

 than dorsally, the head being held with the face directed 

 downwards ; the larva has the peculiar power of inflating the 

 ocelli at will, so that they become quite prominently convex. 

 The pupa is lightly attached to one end of the cocoon by 

 the points of the cremaster. 



The moth has a very swift and powerful flight ; it is some- 

 times attracted by light, and may often be seen visiting flowers 

 at and after dusk. The $$ do not come readily to captive $$. 



158. Theretra gnoma (Fabr.). (PL V, fig. 13, larva). 



Sphinx gnoma, Fabricius, 1775, p. 546 (India). 



Theretra gnoma, Roths. & Jord., 1903, p. 770, pi. xiv, fig. 1 (6*) ; 



Seitz, 1929, p. 565, t. 67 d. 

 Sphinx butus, Cramer, 1777, p. 88, pi. clii, fig. A (Coromandel). 

 Chserocampa butus, Hampson, 1892, p. 93. 

 Chserocampa gonograpta, Butler, 1875, p. 249 (Bombay; S.India); 



Swinhoe, 1885 A, p. 288 (Poona ; Belgaum ; Bombay); id., 



1892, p. 20 (Nilgiris ; Canara ; Bombay). 



Imago. — <£$. Very similar to clotho clotho, but paler. Fore 

 wing with one discal line, which is almost parallel with the 

 outer margin and curves costad at SC 5 , accentuated on the 

 veins, and sometimes absent ; the apical line, if present, 

 separate from the discal line ; a second line, often vestigial, 

 situated nearer cell. Hind wing with the pale marginal area 

 more extended than in c. clotho. Expanse : $ 80-96 mm., 

 $ 84-108 mm. 



Sexual armature as in c. clotho. 



Hab. S. India and Ceylon. We have bred the species in 

 S. India, where it is rather rare and local, occurring in open 

 country with moderate rainfall up to 4,000 feet elevation. 



Egg. — Similar to that of c. clotho. 



Larva. — Very closely resembles that of c. clotho in all instars. 

 Moths of gnoma were sometimes obtained from eggs and 

 larvae which we had taken to be those of c. clotho, and when, 

 after many years, we succeeded in isolating a batch of gnoma 



