SA TYRINSE. 
193 
same evening the insects laid about 30 eggs* singly and in batches on both sides of 
the blades of grass indiscriminately. The eggs are almost white, shining, and 
semitransparent. On Sept. 5th, one female died, and her body on being opened was 
found to be quite empty and devoid of eggs. On Sept. 6th, the other female died, 
and most of the eggs hatched. As usual the young larvce made their first meal off the 
empty egg-shells. They are pale green with a black head bearing two very obtuse 
black horns on the crown, and with the caudal processes very small. Down to the 
last change of skin, the larvce are pale green without any conspicuous markings; 
after that change they become pale reddish, finely mottled with greenish, ochreous, 
and other colours, the general effect being somewhat that of the brownish colour of 
a grass stalk to which the bases of the dead leaves are attached. At this stage, the 
larvse remain chiefly amongst the bases of the grass stalks, where they are very 
difficult to be seen. When full grown, they are about II inches long ; the first 
segment is somewhat narrower than the head, the body gradually thickens to the 
middle, and then equally regularly and gradually tapers to the anal segment, which 
is furnished with two short, slightly divergent pointed processes or tails ; there is 
a very faint greenish dorsal line, with about six obscure darkish oblique streaks 
at the sides, the four middle ones of which are the most prominent; the head is 
blackish, armed with two divergent, blunt, conical horns, which are obscure reddish 
like the body; both head and horns are thickly set with small rough tubercles, and 
the face is covered with short hairs; the whole of the body is very rough or rugose, 
and very thickly set with minute tubercles ; the legs and underside of the body are 
coloured like the upper surface. The pupa is usually pale semitransparent green 
without markings, quite smooth, with the thorax very convex and constricted at the 
base of the abdomen, and with the spiracles black. I obtained one differently 
coloured pupa : this was rich reddish-brown, with the spiracles prominently bright 
yellow. The larvse turned to pupae between Sept. 28th and October 4th, and the 
butterflies emerged between October 5th and October 12th. The imagines, though 
variable, were all nearer to M. inclistans than to M. mineus , while the majority were 
true M. indistans” 
Mr. W. Doherty (Journ. Asiatic Society Bengal, 1886, p. 114) gives the 
description of a caterpillar, assigned by him to be that of M . mineus , but whether of 
the wet or dry-season brood is not stated, as follows :—“ Caterpillar taken by mein a 
meadow at Sonakala, in Southern Orissa. It is fusiform, brownish-green, tapering 
greatly at both ends. Head rather large, finely pubescent, dark fuscous marbled 
with paler, a smooth plate in the middle of the forehead, two short, rough triangular 
horns; neck greatly constricted; body rough and prickly rather than pubescent, 
finely wrinkled transversely, six wrinkles to each segment, the second twice as broad 
as the others ; a faint darker dorsal line chiefly visible posteriorly; a lateral line of 
vol. i. September 1st, 1891. c c 
