1S6 
ST. HELENA. 
and commonly flies into houses at night after lamps are lighted. 
I he chrysalis is usually found enveloped in a web and concealed 
under stones, ,or attached to the underside of green leaves of plants. 
It inhabits also Abyssinia, S. Africa, and Madagascar. 
Fam. Ophiusidce. 
Achsea, Hiibn. 
A. melicerta, Drury. — A very large, dark brown-and-wliite 
Moth, sometimes called the Peach Moth from its habit of perforating 
ripe peaches. It is one of the largest found in the Island, but 
not very abundant, and is generally seen on the low land in 
Jamestown, sometimes flying about during the daytime. Its larva 
is found on trees and plants in the Botanical Gardens. It is a 
looper caterpillar, about two inches in length, with six legs at 
the head, eight a little further back than midbody, and two at the 
end. It is of a flesh-colour, finely marked and speckled with black, 
the underside being lighter than the back. The body is smooth , the 
head black and white in colour, and very hard and hairy. It has 
two hard spikes, forming a reddish bifid sort of tail. In the middle 
of the foremost loop, on the back, is an oblong black spot with three 
white spots along its margin. The front legs are hard and shiny, 
the others are soft and divided into two at the foot. When changing, 
it encloses itself in leaves united together with web, and produces 
a rather stout mahogany-coloured chrysalis, about an inch and a 
quarter in length, which at first is coated with a flesh-coloured 
bloom. 
Ophiodes, Guen. 
O. hottentotta, Guen. — A large Moth about the size of the 
last-mentioned, but yellowish in colour. It is very rare, and I 
only met with some fragments of the wings amongst the grass 
near Oaldands, until I was leaving the Island, when a friend 
gave me two larvae or large brown caterpillars ; these I kept in a box 
through their several changes, and obtained specimens of the moths. 
The caterpillar and chrysalis both resemble those last described. 
Fam. Acidalidce . 
Acidalia, Treit. 
*A. separata, Walk. — This exceedingly pretty, little grey Moth, 
