﻿THE LARV^ AND PUP^ OF THE TROIDES OR 



ORNITHOPTERA. 



A BRIEF BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THIS SUBJECT:— 



W. S. Macleay, " Horae Entomologicae," pp. 286-7 and 422-3. (1819-1821). 

 Latreille and Godart, " Encyclopedie Methodique," Vol. IX (1824). 

 Swainson, in Taylor's " Philosophical Magazine," March, 1827. 

 Swainson, " Zoological Illustrations, p. 135. 



Boisduval, " Observasions sur un M&noire de M. Zincken-Somraer," in Annales Societe Ent. France. (1832). 

 J. O. Westwood, Introduction to Modern Classification of Insects, Vol. II, pp. 319-321 ; 339-347, &c. (1840). 

 Dr. Thomas Horsfield, " Catalogue of Lepidopterous Insects in the East India Museum," Vol. I. pp. 10-13. ( l8 57)- 

 * Kirby and Spence, " Introduction to Entomology," 7th Edit., pp. 31-41. (1858). 

 Roland Trimen, " Rhopalocera Africa? Australis, pp. 3-6. (i86r-i866). 

 Edward Newman, " British Butterflies," pp. 9-12. (1871). 



P. Martin Duncan, " Metamorphoses of the Lepidoptera," in Cassell's Nat. Hist., Vol. VI., chapter ix, pp. 21-26. (1896), 



Davidson, Bell and Aitken, " The Butterflies of the North Canara District of the Bombay Presidency." Their Larvae and Pupae, with 



coloured plates, in the Journal of the Bombay Nat. History Society. (1890-1897.) 

 Dr. W. J. Holland, " Butterfly Book," pp. 5-13, plates II to VI. (1899). 



LARVA, PART I. 



The Caterpillars of the Ornithoptera are, like those 

 of the Papilios, composed of 13 fleshy segments or 

 parts ; the anterior segment represents the head of the 

 imago, as it does of the larva ; the 2nd, 3rd and 4th each 

 bear a pair of pectoral or true legs : these segments and 

 legs constitute in the imago the thorax and thoracic legs ; 

 the 5th and 6th segments are plain extensions of the body, 

 each with two minute fleshy spines on the subdorsum ; 

 the 7th to the 10th are each furnished with a pair of prolegs 

 of an apparently simple, but really more elaborate 

 structure ; the next two segments are quite simple in 

 character, and the last, or 13th constitutes a pair of anal 

 legs similar in character to the other prolegs, thus the 

 latter 7 segments go to form the abdomen or body of 

 the perfect insect. 



The 1st segment or head is armed with a pair of strong 

 mandibles and a moderate sized upper lip— emarginate 

 on the front edge ; the maxillae and labium are small, 

 fleshy, and soldered together, and the eyes and general 

 parts of the head are black and horny ; the clypeus is 

 triangulate or nearly so ; the eyes, which form the greater 

 part of the head appear to be rather rugose, with ex- 

 ceedingly minute hairs springing from every portion of 

 their area, and they are not facetted as in the per- 

 fect insect. Between the head and neck is a furcula or 

 pair of nuchal tentacles supposed to be enclosed in a 

 coral red sheath which can be excerted or withdrawn at 

 pleasure. These are very long and prominent in the 

 Ornithoptera, and are probably intended to keep off 

 ichneumons or other foes. They may also give out a 

 distinct odour at such times, but this is merely conjecture : 

 the vivid colouring may also serve a warning or threatning 

 purpose. The whole body of the caterpillar is furnished 

 with a number of fleshy moveable spines, more or less 

 long, and systematically arranged, varying in number 

 and in length on each segment ; they are situated in 

 linear order, longitudinally : the second anterior seg- 



ment has four, the 3rd, 4th and 5th eight, the 6th 

 six, the 7th to the 12th four each, and the anal seg- 

 ment two apparently. The base and apex of these are 

 generally black, and the centre coral-red : there are also 

 two subdorsal rudimentary spines on the 5th and 6th 

 segments ; all these are verticillate, and variable in length. 

 All the segments except the 1st, 3rd, 4th and anal are 

 provided with a small oval stigma on each side in which 

 is an opening into the body, with a chitonous margin ; 

 these are the breathing organs, and they make their 

 appearance again in the chrysalis. 



The three pairs of perfect legs consist of three cylin- 

 drical joints, covered with a chitonous skin and terminated 

 with a claw, which, relatively to the stout size of the 

 joints, is very small, though probably very powerful. 

 [In the perfect insect the ungues or claws are bifid, longer 

 in proportion, and very powerful in their ability of cling- 

 ing to anv object. In some lepidoptera their tenacity is 

 really extraordinary, as is the case with many coleoptera 

 and insects of other orders] . The base to which the 

 joints are attached is a thick tumid protuberance from the 

 segment, and appears to consist of two parts or divisions 

 — the lowest quite rounded, the upper sub-cylindrical ; the 

 exterior portion or front (i.e. towards the head) is 

 chitonous, like the joints of the legs, the hinder part fleshy, 

 like the body of the caterpillar ; the upper division is also 

 fleshy and bears a verticillate and (moveable?) spine, like the 

 general spines of the body, which is also black and coral- 

 red. Each of the leg joints are armed with a multitude of 

 minute setae or bristles — the tumid protuberance is 

 furnished with these setae. The four pairs of prolegs, 

 which with the rest of the larva correspond to the abdo- 

 men of the imago are apparently more simple, but in 

 reality are more elaborate in structure and evidently very 

 muscular — indeed the muscular power of the whole 

 creature is very great. As in the case of the six anterior 

 legs, these prolegs are somewhat opposable in each pair. 

 First there is a very tumid extension of each segment of 



* The Authors quote Swammerdam (Hills', " Swammerdam," Vol. II. p. 37, f. 2, 4), as having discovered by dissection that not only the skins of the larva and of 

 the pupa are encased in each other, but within them the butterfly itself, with its organs indeed in an almost fluid state, but still perfect in all its parts ; and they 

 describe the modus operandi by which anyone can prove this for himself. (P. 36, 7.) 



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