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Show 1888.] MR. A. THOMSON'S REPORT O N T H E INSECT-HOUSE. 119 this female and the series of the same sex from Guadalcanar is that the submarginal spots are very small. Mr. Woodford informs me that both Ornithoptera victoria and O. urvilliana are very fond of frequenting the sweet-smelling white flowers of Cerbera odollam1, a plant common in the Solomon Islands, and also in the Fiji islands. EXPLANATION OF PLATE IV. Fig. 1. Ornithoptera victorice, 3- Imago, upper and under sides. 2. --, half-grown larva; from a drawing by Mr. C. M . Woodford. 3. Ornithoptera reyince, egg, natural size, and a portion of surface magnified. February 21, 1888. Prof. W. H. Flower, C.B., LL.D., F.R.S., President, in the Chair. Mr. Arthur Thomson exhibited a series of Insects reared in the Insect-house in the Society's Gardens during the past year, and read the following Report on the subject:- Report on the Insect-house for 1887. The following is a list of the Insects exhibited in the Insect-house during 1887:- Silk-producing Bombyces and their Allies. Indian. Attacus atlas. Actias selene. pernyi. Anthercea mylitta. cynthia. Cricula trifenestrata. American. Samia cecropia. Actias luna. Telea polyphemus. Dirphia tarquinia. * anyulifera. Hypochera io. promethea. African. Anthercea cytherea. 1 Cerbera odollam, Mr. Hemsley tells me, is closely allied to the Oleander, and similar in aspect. It is common on the sea-shores of India, Ceylou, Malaya, North Australia, and throughout Polynesia, even as far eastwards as Pitcairn Island, though it does not reach the American coast. The seeds will bear long immersion in the sea without injury, and the plant is one of the early inhabitants of coral islands. * Exhibited for the first time. |
