9 6 
PlERIlsVE. 
extent than in the dry form, and also darker and much suffused. The $ in dry form has the 
neuration of the forewing less broadly marked in black than the wet form, as a rule. The wet 
forms are usually the larger. 
The larva is figured on PI. 3a, Fig. 13, pupa Fig. 14. The larvae are gregarious, feeding 
on Ficus retusa , Linn., a tree which is often to be seen in front of temples and which grows to a 
large size, often sending forth aerial roots: one of the many trees commonly known as banyans. 
When about to pupate the larvae, which generally feed in the upper parts of the tree, let themselves 
down by a thread of silk, just as many moth larvae do; often a dozen or more may be seen de¬ 
scending thus to the ground, usually in the evening. On reaching the ground they disperse in all 
directions to surrounding shrubs where they pupate. They perhaps descend for this purpose because 
the tops of these trees are much exposed to the violent storms of the wet season, which would des¬ 
troy many pupae, though probaby not affecting larvae to the same extent. 
Delias aglaia, Linn. 
Also known as D. pasithoe , Linn., but the above name has priority. Usually a very 
common insect around Macao, but not so numerous at Hongkong. In the former district it often 
occurs in crowds in wooded localities, where it frequents the same flowers as the former species, 
which it also resembles in flight and habits. Both species of Delias seem to haunt special places 
for long periods, and are not such wanderers as most insects of this Family. D. aglaia is on the 
wing throughout the year in more or less abundance, and is very fond of flowers, feeding at them 
with wings half-closed or quite shut. 
Fig- 1 5 » PI* IX. is from a $ taken in May ; Fig. 12 the upperside of a ? of the same 
month. The forewings of the $ are much narrower and more angular than those of the ?. 
There is no very marked seasonal change in this butterfly, but the upperside of both sexes 
is usually rather darker and more suffused in the wet forms. The upperside of the ? inclines to 
brown, that of the £ to black, when freshly-emerged to bluish-black. The underside is practically 
the same in both sexes. The wet forms are usually the larger. 
Egg, spindle-shaped, smooth, bright yellow ; laid in a batch of twenty, thirty or more on 
the upperside of leaves of the foodplant, Henslowia frutescens , Champ., Nat. Ord. Santalacece, 
only known from China and very common in parts of this district: a parasite on the roots of other 
vegetation. The larvae also feed occasionally on Loranlhus chinensis. 
Larva, figured on PI. 3a, Fig. 11, pupa Fig. 12. Just hatched the larvae are yellow, sparsely 
hairy, heads black. They are gregarious, many of them, when young, feeding side-by-side on the 
same leaf. They have a curious habit of resting on the prolegs on a stem, and turning the anterior 
part of the body at right angles, sideways off the stem. They seem to be very liable to the attacks 
of Ichneumon flies, a batch of 30 or more pupae often producing nothing but ichneumons and 
sometimes many of the larvae die off and pupae shrivel up without any apparent cause. The larvae 
usually disperse to pupate, but sometimes pupate gregariously, a dozen or so pupae being affixed to 
one large leaf; they attach themselves at almost any angle, sometimes horizontally. 
