BUTTERFLIES OF THE CENTRAL PROVINCES. 18! 



Raipur immediately after the first heavy fall of rain in June. It is 

 common at Sambalpur and is not uucommon at Jabalpur. 



76'. A rl/ojxi la at rax, llcwitson (801). This is a miniature of the 

 above ; but the wings are of a much duller colour and purple rather 

 than blue in tone. It is very common at Paehmarhi, and a smart 

 blow given with a stick on almost any shrub on the plateau wilJ set 

 scores of them Hying. It has the same habit as A. airiaidcs of hiding 

 away in the leaves of trees and shrubs. 



77. Curctis t/ictis, Fabricius (850). 



7S. Curctis bulls, Doubleday and Hewitson (85S). The genus 

 Curctis consists of butterflies of a peculiar and striking coloration. 

 The males arc of a brilliant coppery-red above and silvery-white 

 underneath, while the females are either white or ochreous above 

 (in a Japanese form dull bluish) and silvery- white underneath. In 

 both sexes the upperside has a black border varying in width, so 

 that in some specimens but little of the ground-colour is seen, while 

 in others as little of the border is apparent. The effect of the rich 

 red and silvery-white while in the act of flight is charming and not 

 a little surprising. In C. thctis the black border is much narrower 

 than in C. bulis, and does not extend along the inner margin of the fore- 

 wing. In C. bulis (to which C. awjulata (856) and C. dentata (857) 

 are very nearly related, if they are not actually the same species) the 

 black border extends along the inner margin. Both forms are ob- 

 tainable at Paehmarhi and also at Sambalpur. The transformations 

 of this genus are very curious, and. the account given of them, in 

 " The Butterflies of India," by Mr. de Niceville, will well repay 

 perusal. 



79. Zesius chysomallus, Hiibner (890). I have only succeeded in, 

 procuring a few specimens of this butterfly, all at Sambalpur. The 

 female is much larger than the male and in appearance is totally 

 unlike, it being of a bluish colour, while the male is of a bright 

 copper colour, and not only this, but the female has three tails to 

 each hindwing, while the male has but two. I always found the 

 females flying near the ground where the ground was marshy, and 

 near tanks, while the male darted about among the leaves of trees 

 like most others of the " robust folk ; " the female in this respect 

 resembled the " feeble folk." 



