





28 VI—THE BUTTERFLIES. 
naked, but furnished with two pairs of long and very slender 
thread-like filaments; one pair the longer on the third segment, 
the other on the twelfth segment. The body is white, with nu- 
merous black and yellow transverse stripes, repeated with con- 
siderable regularity on each of the segments so that there are 
nowhere any broad patches of one colour. 
When the larva is full grown it spins a little tuft of suk 
to the under side of whatever object it may be resting upon, 
and after entangling the hooks of its hind, legs in the silk it 
lets go the hold of its other legs and hangs down, with the 
head and anterior joints of the body curved. In this posi- 
tion it hangs for about twenty-four hours, during which 
the fluids of the body naturally gravitate towards the up- 
turned joints, until the latter become so swollen that at 
last, by a little effort on the part of the larva, the skin 
bursts along the back behind the head. Through the rent 
thus made the anterior portion of the pupa is protruded, 
and by constant stretching and contracting the larval skin 
is sipped and crowded backwards until there is but a small 
surivelled mass gathered around the tail. Now comes the 
critical period—the culminating point. 
The soft and supple chrysalis, yet showing the elongate 
larval form with distinct traces of its prolegs, hangs heavily 
from the shrunken skin. From this skin it is to be ex- 
tricated and firmly attached to the silk outside. It has 
neither legs nor arms, and we should suppose that it would 
inevitably fall while endeavouring to accomplish this 
object. But the task is performed with the utmost surety, 
though appearing so perilous to us. The supple and con- 
tractile joints of the abdomen are made to subserve the 
purpose of legs, and by suddenly grasping the shrunken 
larval skin between the folds of two of these joints as with 
a pair of pincers, the chrysalis disengages the tip of its 
body and hangs for a moment suspended. Then with a 
few earnest, vigorous, jerking movements it succeeds in 
sticking the horny point of its tail into the silk, and firmly 
fastening it by means of a rasp of minute claws with which 
that point is furnished. Sometimes severe effort is needed 
before the point is properly fastened, and the chrysalis fre- 
quently has to climb by stretching the two joints above 
those by which it is suspended, and clinging hold of the 
shrivelled skin further up. The moment the point is 
fastened the chrysalis commences, by a series of violent 
jerkings and whirlings, to dislodge the larval skin, after 
which it rests from its efforts and gradually contracts and 
hardens. The really active work lasts but a few minutes, 
and the insect rarely fails to go through with it suecess- 
fully. The chrysalis is a beautiful object, and as it hangs 
pendant from some old fence-board or from the under side 
of an Asclepias leaf, it reminds one of some large ear-drop ; 
but, though the jeweller could successfully imitate the form, 
he might well despair of ever producing the clear pale- 
ereen and the ivory-black and golden marks which so 
characterize it. 
The pupa is pale green, stout, being largest in the middle 
of the abdomen, where it is transversely ridged; elsewhere it is 
smooth and rounded, with no striking prominences, but with little 
conical projections at most of the elevated points, like those 
which half encircle the body at, the abdominal ridge. All these 
are of a golden colour, except those on the abdominal ridge, 
which are situated in a tricoloured band, black in front, yellow 
in the middle, and gilt behind. 
The chrysalis state lasts but a short time, as is the case 
with all those which are known to suspend themselves 
nakedly by the tail. At the end of about the tenth day the 
dark colours of the future butterflies begin to show through 
the delicate and transparent skin, and suddenly this skin 
bursts open near the head, and the new-born butterfly 
gradually extricates itself, and stretching forth its legs 
and clambering on to some surrounding object, allows its 
moist, thickened, and contracted wings to hang’ listlessly 
from the body. 
The perfect insect appears from January until May, 
specimens being also met with in the spring. It is a most 
striking species on the wing, and one which, when once 
seen, is not likely to be forgotten. 
DANAIDA CHRYSIPPUS. 
(Dandaida chrysippus, Linn., Kirby Huropean Butterflies and 
Moths, 26; Limnas chrysippus, Huds., Trans. N.Z. Inst., XL, 
104.) 
(Plate IV., fig. 11 9; 12 under side.) 
Mr. Edwin C. Sherlock informed me that in March, 
1904, a boy captured a specimen of this butterfly about 
four miles from Thames. Mr. Sherlock at once visited the 
locality, and was fortunate enough to see another, but he 
could not capture it. Since this time one has been taken 
at Auckland, two at Wanganui, and one at Nelson. 
The expansion of the wings is almost 3 in. The fore-wings 
are bright orange-brown, darker towards the costa, and very 
broadly bordered with black at the apex, tapering off at the 
tornus; there is a number of clear white spots near the apex. 
The hind-wings are paler orange-brown, with three obscure 
brownish-black spots near the middle, and a broad black terminal 
band containing one or two paler spots. On the under side the 
fore-wings are very broadly shaded with rich blackish-brown; 
there is a large patch of dull greenish-yellow above the white 
spots near the apex. The hind-wings are bright ochreous-yellow 
with a black border, containing numerous white spots, and three 
central black marks bordered with white. 
This species somewhat resembles Danaida plexippus, 
but may easily be distinguished from that insect by its 
smaller size and by the veins on the upper side of the fore- 
wings not being marked in black. It oceurs throughout 
Australia, Africa, Western Asia, the East Indies and 
Greece. 
Described and figured from the specimen kindly lent 
to me by Mr. Sherlock. 
Sub-family 2.—SaATyRIpDEs. 
Palpi strongly pressed iogether, set in front with long, stiff 
hairs. Fore-wings frequently with one or more of the veins 
swollen or bladder-like at the base of the wing. Cells of both 
wings closed. (Plate B., figs. 25, 26, 27.) Larva thickest at the 
middle, the hind end of the body bifid. Pupa generally sus- 
pended by the cremaster, without girth but sometimes terrestrial. 
