COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA. 57 



strongly suffused with orange. The ground-colour of the larva is sometimes 

 nearly violet. L. 47 mm. ; B. 6'5 mm. ; H. S mm. ; L. of tentacles of segment 

 3 : TO mm. 



Pti.pa. — The pupa has nothing to distinguish it from the last in shape. The 

 colour is silvery-golden all over with the wing-line along the thorax, a dorsal 

 thoracic band running back and forking near apex, a subdorsal and lateral 

 abdominal band, all of a dirty light brownish colour ; cremaster black as well as 

 last segment ; two rows of black spots on abdomen, one supra-spiracular, one 

 lateral to each segment. The spiracles are oval, slightly raised and the colour of 

 the body. L. 19 mm. ; B. 9 mm. Larva turns rose-coloured before pupating. 



Egg. — Neai'ly cylindrical for 2/3 its height, the top 1/4 rather pointed, dome- 

 shaped. Surface covered with many longitudinal ribs of small height, rounded 

 in section and broad, the interspaces being crossed by numerous minor ridges 

 at right angles ; the two sets covering the surface with many square, round- 

 bottomed cells. Colour white immediately on being laid, turning yellow, then 

 orange ; finally becoming greyish just before emergency of larva ; surface 

 shiny, L. 1.4 mm. ; B. 1mm. 



Habits. — This is the commonest species of Euploea and may be seen 

 everywhere throughout continental India at all times of the 

 year, in the plains, in the hills, in grass-lands, jungles, on bare rocky 

 slopes and in dark shady nallas, generally a few yards above the 

 ground sailing along lazily in the characteristic danaine style or 

 busily, if somewhat weakly, flying about in search of a suitable leaf 

 or bud or twig whereon to deposit its egg. It should not be a diffi- 

 cult quest judging by the numerous foodplants the insect has to choose 

 from. It has a range of three botanical families, Urticacece, Apocif- 

 nacece and Asclepediacece. Its larva has been found upon Strebhis 

 asper, Lour., Ficus hengalensis L., F.religiosa, L., F. glomerata, Roxb., 

 belonging to the first family : Holarrhena antidysenterica. Wall., 

 Nerium odorum, Soland., N. oleander, L., Tchnocarpvs frutescevs, 

 Br., of the second ; and the Asclepiad creeper Hemldesmii.'^ indku.^., 

 Br. 



8. Euploea koilari, Fdder. — The most ample-winged of our three species 

 of the genus. Male and female u]iperside very dark olive-brown, 

 paling towards outer margins ; both wings with complete or nearly complete 

 double series of submarginal white spots, the inner row the larger, decreas- 

 ing in size on the forewing towards apex where it curves in ; on the hindwing 

 the row is of elongate-oval spots, much larger than the outer ones ; these 

 outer very regular, two in each interspace on forewing, obsolete towards 

 apex. Underside olive-brown, spots as above, on forewing two to four extra 

 ones on disc, that in interspace 2 largest, also a small costal spot : on the hind- 

 wing one or two discal spots. Antennae very dark-brown, head, thorax and 

 8 



