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Show 242 DR. A. G. BUTLER ON BUTTERFLIES [Feb. 18, the young leaves appear, they commence to feed. Last season the young larvae of L. disippus appeared on the 24th of April, and on the 30th passed into the second stage, on the 7th May into the third stage, and on the 13th into the fourth stage, turned to pupae on the 18tb, and the first butterfly appeared on M a y 22nd. It was not until the perfect insects appeared that examples of another species were to be detected amongst them, so that the larvae of Limenitis ursula and its mode of life must closely resemble those of L. disippus. I have again the pleasure of exhibiting a pair of Eudcemonia argus, from Sierra Leone, and I may here mention that, besides the usual differences in the antenna?, the male has only four spots on the hind wings, and the female has always five. The specimens of Rhodia fugax emerged from cocoons deposited in the Insect-house by the Hon. Walter Kothschild, F.Z.S. The larva? were reared, I believe, in the neighbourhood of Richmond, on wallow, from ova imported from Japan. I had some ova of this species, but the young larvae would not feed and all died. One peculiarity of this larva is, that it makes a squeaking noise when disturbed. The specimen of Attacus mythimna is the second example of this beautiful species exhibited before the Society. This species was originally described and figured, P. Z. S. 1849, p. 40, pi. vii. fig. 3, as were also Satumia belina and Urota sinope. Of these last two species males only were figured. The specimens exhibited are all females. Of Orthoptera an example of a very curious locust, Petasia spumans, was brought home in December and presented to the Society by Mr. Eobert Ganthony, who obtained it from Krugersdorp Falls, near Johannesburg, Transvaal. It fed upon watercress and chewed apple, but I am sorry to say did not live very long in England. The following papers were read :- 1. On the Butterflies obtained in Arabia and Somaliland by Capt. Chas. G. Nurse and Col. J. W . Yerbury in 1894 and 1895. By A R T H U R G. BUTLER, Ph.D., Senior Assistant-Keeper of Zoology, Natural History Museum. [Received January 29, 1896.] (Plate X.) Although the collections now received add only a very few species to the lists of Butterflies published in m y papers on the Lepidoptera of Aden and Somaliland (P. Z. S. 1884 & 1885), they are of considerable interest, inasmuch as they contain intermediate forms between species hitherto regarded as distinct. |
