THE COMMON B UTTEllFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA. 759 



families Ruhiacecx-, I)ii:)terocari-)eai, JEiii^liofhiaceoe Loranthaceoe, Sainnda- 

 ceoe, Myrtaceoe. It ynight be said to be fairly omnivorous in 

 vegetables ! 



32. Genus — Catapcecilma. 



Three species of this genus are known from Indian limits, one only of 

 which is wide-spread, namely, the one below, elegans. The three may be 

 known by having three, short, thread-like tails to the hind wing \\\e Rathinda 

 and Horaya, but can be distinguished from both of them at once by the fact 

 that the wings have sinuate outer margins and the underside is banded and 

 spotted with metallic silvery-green or silvery violet instead of being marked 

 with lines and spots as in the former, or with a broad-medial white band on 

 a pure ground as in the latter ; the wing neuration agrees very closely with 

 that of Horaga, but the male never has any sexual characters such as are found 

 in most of the species of that genus ; the eyes are hairy, the autennte have 

 a gradually-formed, well-developed club ; the palpi are moderately long, 

 much compressed, the second joint reaching well beyond the head and longly 

 haired beneath, the third slender, but well-formed. The transformations 

 of elegans are known. The larva is normal, but depressed in shape with a 

 large segment 2, the surface is covered with very minute, flat-topped, 

 thick, circular, white tubercles. It is always attended by ants. The 

 pupa is normal in shape and the last segment is not hoof-shaped as in 

 Rcdhinda. Judging by elegans, the flight of insects of the genus is rather 

 that of Nacaduha than anything else ; fairly strong but of the fluttering 

 description. Catapcecilma is an Oriental genus altogether and is known from 

 Mussoori, Burma, South India and Ceylon. 



186. Catapoecilma elegans, Druce. Male. Uppersiie : dull, dark purple 

 with narrow, black, costal and outer borders which are inclined to be 

 maculate ; a fine anteciliary, black line ; the cilia shining-grey and broadly 

 black at the ends of the veins ; the outside margin sinuate between the 

 veins. Fore wing : the margins both narrow ; a fringe of sparse, rather long, 

 grey hairs along the inner margin. Hind wing : the costal margin above 

 vein 7 and broadly, obliquely down to vein 6-end brown-black, outer margin 

 as on fore wing ; anal margin light-brown. Underside : dusky-smokey with a 

 violet tint with light-yellow intervals along the costa of fore wing and lightest 

 in middle of outer margin of the same, between the discal and subbasal 

 markings of hind wing and along its outer margin, as also along the inner 

 margin of fore wing below vein 1 ; with, on both wings, rusty and black spots 

 and bands with broad margins of irridescent silver. Fore wing : above vein 

 12 on the costa many little, transverse, black lines with silver scales on 

 them ; in interspace 11 ; some silver scales about middle and a brown- 

 quadrate spot in the end on the costa ; in 10 : two quadrate, silver spots, 

 one in the middle and one before it and a brown one on the 

 costa at its end; in 9: the same. In the cell: a rusty red spot 

 with an outer, silver border filling the base ; a similar one in the 

 middle and another, quadrate, enclosing the discocellulars ; both these last 

 bordered on inside and outside with silver. Below the cell : a blackish, 

 rounded spot in the angle of vein 2 and the median nervure, bounded out- 

 side by silver ; the base of interspace 3 touching the discocellular spot, 

 silver in continuation of the outer border of the borders of that spot, 

 continued by a larger, quadrate spot filling the interval between 

 veins 2 and 3 with a small spot in addition near its inside under vein 2 ; all 

 chocolate dark -brown, the inner border of the whole silver ; in interspaces 

 4, 5 in continuation of the outer border of this large mark is a continuous 



