TUE COMMOA BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA. 447 



the same, length, some longer, some white, some brown ; the distance 

 between tubercles is about O'lmm; the tiny glandular, glassy- 

 tubercles about the gland are hardly U-025mni. in diameter 

 and about the same height. The larva may be plain green 

 in colom- without any markings except an indistinct, darkish 

 line. 



In the pupa the hinder margin of the thorax is produced back 

 in the dorsal line where the two halves come to practically a point 

 making the length of segment 4- short in that region ; this margin 

 meets the wings in a ver}^ windly open, largely rounded angle of 

 about CO*-' leaving the lateral portions of segment 5 very largely 

 exposed ; segment 5 is short. The proboscis only reaches half way 

 to ends of wings, the antennte are very stoiit and reach the ends ; 

 the leo-s are only visible for half the way towards ends of wings. 

 The colour is sometimes nearly immaculate grass-green. 



Habiti<. — The eggs are laid single and anywhere on the plant : on 

 leaves, stalks or flowers ; the little larva eats the pods and flowers 

 and leaf-cuticle ; even when full grown it is difficult to find, but is 

 often attended by ants which helps in that, wherever there are two 

 or three of these gathered together on the plant, there will generally 

 be one of the caterpillars. The pupa is formed anywhere con- 

 venient, on the upper or underside of a leaf, either withered or 

 otherwise, etc. ; and is attached by the tail and a body-string. The 

 larva has been bi-ed upon Zornia diphijlla (Ler/iiminosecn) , the food 

 also of that of Zizera hjsimon ; but it probably feeds upon small 

 vetches as well. The butterfly may be found in any grass lauds in 

 India, Burma or Ceylon ; it is fairly plentifiil and flies close along 

 tiie surface of the ground among the herbage or over the little 

 spreading, creeping vetches, stopping to feed at their flowers at 

 frequent intervals ; when settled it always rubs its wings 

 together after the manner of so many of the " blues." It 

 sits with its wings closed over the back, rarely in any other 

 position, and is very easy to catch with a net. In the same 

 manner as Z. lysimon, too, it may be caught with the fingers 

 when sitting on grass-stalks, etc., numbed with the cold and wet 

 with dew in the early mornings of the cold weather. It is fond of 

 sunlight and is never plentiful in the shady, cool jungles of the hills 

 except in the absolutely open and moderately extensive clearings 

 where its foodplants grow. It is a very smalk insect, the next 

 smallest to Chilades trochilus, which is the tiniest of all Indian 

 Lyccenidw. There is nothing interesting to tell aboiit its habits 

 in any stage ; nothing to distinguish it from any of its near relatives 

 which are rather a monotonous lot. The distribution is : Punjab, 

 Kumaon, Sikkim ; Bengal, Orissa, Central, Western and Southern 

 India ; Ceylon, Assam, Burma, Tenasserin ; extending to the 

 Malayan Subregion as far as Java «ind into China. 



