52 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XIX 



area of distribution as its foodplant Calotropis under its two forms 

 C. gigantea and C. procera. Asclepias curassavica of the same 

 family, introduced from America and spread all over India, is also a 

 favorite foodplant. The larvse are much attacked by ichneumons. 

 The species is a dry-weather one in the regions of heavy rainfall. 



Two varieties of this insect with the hind wings more or less white 

 have been named alcippus and alcippoides by Cramer and Moore 

 in the past : they are found in the dry regions chiefly ; another 

 variety in which the apical white band is altogether or nearly 

 altogether wanting on the forewing, was christened dorippus by Klug 

 and Jdugii by Butler. This latter variety is found everywhere in 

 India where the parent form exists, 



4. Danais limniace, Cramer (PI. E, fig. 33). — Male and female ; upperskle 

 black with bluish-white semihyaline spots and streaks. Forewing below 

 cell : two streaks, sometimes coalescent, with a spot beyond ; in cell : a streak 

 from base and an outwardly indented sport at apex ; a series of five streaks and 

 two spots from costa towards inner margin outside cell, a single spot beyond 

 in interspace 3 and a double irregular submarginal series of spots, the inner the 

 larger. Hindwing ; interspaces Ih, la and 1 with streaks from base, double 

 in la and 1 ; cell with a forked broad streak or wholly white with a central 

 dark forked line : beyond cell in interspaces 2 and 3 a slender fork, in 

 4 and 5 a broad elongate spot and in 6 a quadrate spot ; on the wing- 

 beyond these two series of irregular somewhat scattered spots, submarginal and 

 marginal. Underside black, apex of forewing broadly and outer two- thirds of 

 hindwing olive-brown ; streaks and spots as above. Antennas, head and thorax 

 black, the latter two spotted and streaked with white ; abdomen dusky above, 

 ochraceous spotted with white beneath. The male has a pouch on the under- 

 side of hindwing below vein 2. Exp. 98-106mm. , 



Danais septentrionis, Butler, differing from this species in the ground-colour 

 being darker and the markings narrower, more distinct and of a bluer tint, is 

 said to be a separate species. Colonel Bingham says that the short streaks 

 immediately outside the cell above vein 5 of forewing are always outwardly 

 acute, never truncate as in limniace. The form, however, seems only to be 

 found in the hills : Simla to Sikhim ; Orissa, Southern India, Kanara, Malabar 

 and the Nilgiris ; Ceylon ; Assam ; throughout Burma and Tenasserim, to 

 Malayan Subregion. All regions of considerable rainfall. 



Larva. — The shape is the same as that of chrysippus ; body smooth, having 

 a pair of tentacles on the 3rd and 12th segments only, the former pair longer 

 and moveable, the latter half the length, fixed. The head is similar also in 

 colour and markings to the last species. The spiracles are black with a fine 

 raised shiny border, oval in shape, rather large, situated on the dorso-vential 

 band. Colour of body is brown-black above, banded with blue-white: whitey- 



