Page:Life-histories of Indian insects - Microlepidoptera - T. Bainbrigge Fletcher.djvu/85

 T. BAINBRIGGE FLETCHER 25 Just below the spiracle are (1) a very short white hair directed forward, (2) a short white hair directed backward. The whole body, particularly on the dorsal and ventral regions, is thickly covered with minute short black bristly hairs. The legs are fairly large and are yellowish in colour ; prolegs rather small, greenish yellow. The larva feeds on the flowers and seeds of Sopubia trijida. " In the case of another larva, the sixth and eleventh segments had a round pale spot in the purple dorsal stripe on each side of its central darker line, " The pupa is long and narrow, of a pa'.e yellowish-green colour with a broad purplish-red dorsal stripe ; the usual white hairs are so short that they are only just perceptible under a lens. The larval skin is discarded entirely and is shrunk up into a minute pellet. The pupa is capable of rapid and violent motions in the ventro-dorsal plane, the head being bent backwards dorsally until it touches the anal extremity. The pupa is suspended head downwards, ventral surface against support "(^). At Pusa this species has been reared from larvse found on Kukraunda (Blumea balsamifera) on 18th February 1908. The larvae were feeding on the green leaves from which they dropped by a thread when disturbed ; the larva does not eat the edge of the leaf but nibbles small holes in the upper, and occasionally in the lower, surface of the leaf. Its movements are sluggish. The larva was described as about 8 mm. long and 1*5 mm. broad, cylin- drical, tapering posteriorly, yellowish-green ; head green, tinged with yellowish or brownish anteriorly, covered with microscopic white hairs ; prothorax with two transverse rows of white spinous hairs and with smaller dark secondary hairs ; legs greenish-yellow ; abdominal segments distinctly segmented, with an irregular interrupted dull yellowish lateral stripe and a deep green dorsal stripe, tubjrcles armed with bunches of white spines and black hairs ; spiracles small, round, black. Pupation takes place on the surface of a leaf, the pupa being very similar in colour to the larva. Before pupation the larva applies a long narrow network of silken threads to the surface of a leaf and the pupa attaches itself to this by the double set of cremastral hooks. The pupa is about 8 mm. long and 1'5 mm. broad across thorax, head depressed, thoracic region pro- minent, tapering alm.ost to a point anally ; a few white spiny hairs scattered over surface ; a brownish dorsal stripe ; wing-cases nearly reaching anal extremity. One individual, which pupated on 26th February, emerged on 7th March 1908. (Pusa Insectary Cage-slip 652.)