68 
LYC^NIM. 
The ? butterfly, after almost interminable flitting up and down and wandering hither and 
thither amongst the adjacent foliage, finally alights after two or three abortive attempts in the midst 
of the aphides and ants, which she thrusts aside with a brushing movement of the tip of the abdo¬ 
men, immediately laying a single egg. She then generally moves slightly and remains for some 
time sucking up the exuding juice of the plant: both £ and $ are very fond of it, and half-a-dozen 
may sometimes be seen close together on one leaf or stem drinking this sap, thrusting their pro- 
bosces through any interstices left by the bodies of the aphides. The ants do not appear to meddle 
either with butterflies or eggs, nor to interfere with the larvae. Perhaps they are too much occupied 
with the aphides and sap, and in the case of the larvae of Gerydus the ants are apparently not essential 
to their welfare, as they are to the larvae of Spindasis lohita , to be subsequently mentioned; 
no doubt, however, the presence of the ants protects the eggs and larvae from many enemies. 
The egg is circular and flat, ringed circumferentially with two mouldings milled like the 
edge of a coin, and is of a pale green. In leaving the egg the larva makes a neat little round hole 
in the centre of the top. The egg hatches in about four days in the wet season, the issuing larva 
being nearly cylindrical at first, not assuming its limaciform or slug-shape till a later period. It is 
light yellow, with a distinct purplish dorsal line, and a few light-coloured hairs, chiefly at the head 
and last segment, the head being brownish. Later on the larva becomes limaciform, yellow or 
greenish-yellow, and banded longitudinally with purple-brown, the segments well defined, the second 
segment swollen and produced, so that the head can be withdrawn entirely beneath it, which is usually 
the case when the larva is resting. 
The larvae feed on the aphides, sometimes pressing them against the plant with head and 
forelegs, sometimes holding them in the forelegs quite away from the plant, the larvae resting only 
on the prolegs. A few bites disposes of an aphis, and the larva then licks and cleans its legs just 
as a mantis does. Some aphides must have a better flavour than others, or it may be a question of 
« ripeness,” as the larvae pick and choose, moving their heads up and down over the backs of the 
aphides, apparently smelling them. As a rule the creatures make little attempt to escape till they 
are actually seized, when struggling is useless. The amusing part of it is that when not engaged 
in feeding on the aphides the larvae rest amongst them or crawl leisurely between or over them, and 
the aphides do the like, the larvae being sometimes covered with them. The eggs of the butterfly, 
too, are usually hidden beneath a mass of aphides: perhaps the reason the eggs have evolved their 
peculiar flat surface which, gummed down by the secretion of the $ at the time of laying, affords a 
broad, firm base unlikely to be dislodged by the movements of the aphides and ants. The structure 
of the legs of the butterfly has perhaps arisen from a necessity for raising the insect above the aphides 
when it settles amongst them, for it holds its legs almost vertically, thus raising its body higher than 
most butterflies. 
When nearly full-grown the larvse lose most of their sparse hairs and their colouring fades. 
Though usually very sluggish in their movements, when about to pupate they walk about restlessly 
at quite a rapid gait, and having at last chosen a suitable spot, spin a few threads at a little distance 
from the head and tail. My larvae pupated on rough bark, some putting a band or girdle round 
