COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA . '\An 



Genus— BYBLIA. 



Only one species. Exp. 2"— 2-25" iUthyia. 



The insect is not t'omid on the coasts. The larva and pupa are 

 very like tho^^e of the next genus and the foodplant is the same. 



Genus— ERGOLIS. 



A. Forewing : termen (outer margin") deeply concave 



between veins 5 and l) and 5 and ?>. Exp. 2" — 



2-25" .. ariadne. 



B. Forewing : termen not concave there, but some- 



what sinuous. 



a. Hindwing underside : male, without central 



dark patch ; npperside : female, brownish- 

 ochreous. Exp. 2'— 2-4" . meriove. 



b. Hindwing underside : male, with central dark 



patch ; upperside : in both sexes dark ferrugi- 

 nous. Exp. 1-9"— 2-2" taprohana. 



The males of ariadne have the upper three veins of the hindwing 

 (veins 0, 7 and 8) on the upperside white. E. taprohana is the south- 

 ern representative of E. marione in India. The larvse are spined and 

 have horns, the pupse are slender with the dorsal margins of wings 

 curved, the thorax humped and transverse ridges across abdominal 

 dorsum. The foodplant is the euphorbiaceous Tragia involucrata, 

 which is a weak creeper with a leaf somewhat like a nettle, 

 common in hedges. 



This next subfamily of the Nyuhphalince is one of the largest 

 groups of Butterflies in the number of species it contains ; it is 

 equivalent in this respect to the whole family of Skippers or of the 

 Li/ccsnidce. It is distributed as the predominant group throughout 

 the whole world. In British India there are some 220 species of 

 which only some two score will interest us more particularly. In 

 Great Britain 18 species occur among which are included the 

 Painted Lady, the Red Admiral, the Camberwell Beauty, the 

 Tortoise Shells, the Peacock, the Fritilleries and the Purple Em- 

 peror. In the coloured plates A, B, C, D and E, figures 1-21 and 36 

 are represented 22 species of Indian insects ; their names will be 

 found in the " List of contents of the Plates." 



These butterflies are all fond of the sun ; at least this is true of the 

 males, for some of the females are not often seen except under cover. 

 Some have the habit of basking on the top*^ of trees, perched on a 



