ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY. 



CEYLON BRANCH, 



OH THE FORMATION OF A COLLECTION OF 

 LEPIDOPTERA IN CEYLON. 

 By Edgar L. Layard, Esq. 



{Read 3rd June, 1848.) 



The small progress which has hitherto been made towards a 

 knowledge of the Natural History of the Island, and the total 

 absence of all public and private collections, contrasted with 

 the rich and extensive field which the country affords to the 

 Naturalist, induce me to offer to the Society a few hints on the 

 formation of a collection of Lepidoptera. 



The caterpillars, or larvas, of butterflies and moths, (or more 

 scientifically speaking, of Diurnal and Nocturnal Lepidoptera,) 

 may be sought for on almost every plant and shrub met in 

 our daily walks. Morning and evening, in a tropical country, 

 are their feeding times, and they may then be found making 

 good use of their powerful jaws, clinging to the underside or 

 edges of the leaves. During the heat of the day they conceal 

 themselves in the thickest and shadiest parts of the plant, and 

 remain perfectly motionless, till hunger and the cool breezes of 

 evening again summon them to their pleasing labours. Some 

 species, such as many of the grass-feeding Noctua, feed only at 

 night, and must then be carefully sought with a lantern ; 



