COLIAS EDUSA. 13 



and were from three-quarters of an inch to one inch 

 in length, whilst others were still small, under half an 

 inch in length. 



On the 19th of July two friends, while gathering 

 some of the food-plant for me near the shore, found a 

 larva of Edusa on it, more advanced than mine reared 

 from eggs in captivity, and this larva had spun up on 

 the 25th and was a pupa on the 29th. 



On Monday the 6th of August, 1877, hearing that 

 the second brood of Golias Edusa was flying in great 

 profusion about the clover fields, I induced a friend 

 to net me a few of the shabbiest females he could meet 

 with, and he returned with about a dozen for me and 

 as many perfect specimens for himself, and amongst 

 them a lovely specimen of the variety Helice. He 

 reported them to be in great abundance all over the 

 field he visited. 



On the spur of the moment I utilised a little fresh- 

 gathered Lotus corniculatus, placed in bottles of water 

 and covered with glass cylinders, and also a growing 

 plant on which the larvae of the first brood were still 

 feeding protected by a covering of grenadine. By the 

 evening I observed one of the best conditioned females 

 had laid nine eggs on the Lotus in a bottle of water ; 

 to these she added a few more, and when the larvae 

 began to hatch these little sprays were placed in the 

 middle of two fine plants of Lotus growing in pots for 

 the larvae to find their food ; these were uncovered 

 and placed in a window, and between them stood a 

 small pot of common clover on which the butterfly had 

 been kept a day or two and deposited several eggs 

 before she was set at liberty. Without further atten- 

 tion the larvae throve, wandering occasionally from 

 one pot to the other ; sometimes I saw an individual 

 or two on the window-curtain, on the sill, or on the 

 floor, but not often. 



Their growth was very different ; the most forward 

 had completed their last moult by September 21st, 

 while others were not more than half an inch long. 



