478 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HLST, SOClRrY, Vol. XXT'I. 



lohita, Horsfield, has the upperside brown, slightly variegSted with grey, especi- 

 ally in the female and marked with a few obsolete bands of a deeper tint ; 

 underneath the bands, comparatively with A. vulcanns, Fabricius, are narrow 

 and wholly without any black, marginal thread ; the bands in the forewing are 

 seven in number, besides an obsolete, basal, angular spot, the third and fourth 

 are abbreviated, co7iverging, approximate or confluent behind the disc ; in the hind- 

 wing the third is joostmedial, regularly transverse and without any tendency to the 

 second, marginal band : in the character of the fourth and fifth bands this species 

 agrees with A. vulcanus, while both differ decidedly from A. syama, Horsfield." 

 Then de Nici'ville adds " A. lohita is a species which presents considerable diffi- 

 culty as, in the large area which it inhabits, it shows much variability. Two of 

 the forms have been figured by Mr. Hewitson ; in one the red bands of the under- 

 side are very narrow and the two. short, discal ones of the forewing ^\•ell separated. 

 I have seen no variety of this figure in India agreeing with this figure ; it is possi- 

 ble it may be the Sumatran form as Hewitson gives Sumatra and India as the 

 habitat of this species. The other figin-e shoA\s all the bands very broad and 

 of a deep red, the discal bands confluent ; this appears to be the form occurring 

 commonly at Rangoon. A form intermediate between these t^^'o extremes is the 

 common Himalayan one. Until recently, A. lohita was the name by which Indian 

 specimens of this species were known, though the type was described from Java. 

 Mr. Moore has hoAvever separated off se\eral of these forms and described them 

 as new species ; but, I think, on A^ery insufficient grounds. As lately as 1886, 

 however, he gave lohita as from Mergui and his specimens from that locality are 

 now before me. I cannot find that they differ in the smallest degree from Sikkim 

 specimens of this species which he has named hlmalayanus iom-.e. From Ceylon 

 he has described A. lazularia. I cannot find in his description or in specimens- 

 of the species the slightest character by which they can be separated from A. 

 lohita, and Mr. Moore in his descrii^tion of the species admits its variability even 

 from such a restricted area as Ceylon. I have kej^t the A. concanus, Moore, 

 as a distinct species with considerable reluctance, the species having the ground 

 colour of the undersides reddish-cchreous instead of yellow as in typical A. 

 lohita ; though Mr. Moore, in describing A. lazularia, says that this red form is a 

 variety of that species only and occurring in the male ; also A. zoilus, Moore, 

 which appears to be typically confined to the Andaman Isles, and may be known 

 by the bands of the underside being black instead of red, but Mr. Moore records 

 this species from Mergui and the sjjecimen before me is perhaps nearer to zoilus 

 than to typical lohita as the bands are black tinged with red ; and I possess a 

 single female specimen from Ceylon which exhibits exactly the same character ; 

 lastly A. zebrinus, Moore, from Ceylon, which I have not seen." 



From all of which will be seen that these Aphna'us butterflies are very variable 

 and it is difficult to get one description that would fit all individuals of any 

 species. 



Larva. — Is a typical Aj^hnceus larva ; in shape ; more or less parallel-sided, 

 segments 2 and 14 rather narrow, the head never completely hidden under 

 segment 2 and the two organs on segment 12 with permanently exserted, short, 

 cylindrical towers. Head large, nearly round in shape, somewhat depressed, 

 shining, dark brown in colour with the face black ; the dorsal line slightly de- 

 pressed, with some few hairs at the clypeus and mouth-ai^erture. Segments 

 distinct especially along the dorsoventral margins ; segment 2 is transversely 

 rather narrow, somewhat longer than broad (about equal to the anal segment 

 in breadth), concave longitudinally, the margins being somewhat turned up, 

 smooth with a shining, red-brown border, with a fringe of long, dense, feathered 

 or minutely bristle-bearing hairs on the lateral and anterior margin ; these hairs 

 some brown, some translucent-whitish and of different lengths ; anal segment, 

 sloping very gently backAvards, has a large, shining, smooth, dorsal depression 

 occupying nearly the whole surface and bordered thinly light, is rounded 



