160 THE entomologist's record. 



enveloping one. As the afternoon passed, the place became unbearable, a 

 closed carriage that had been drawn up under shelter of the Hotel, with 

 its driver inside the latter, was too tempting, and by 6.30 p.m. I found 

 myself out of the clouds, rain, and wet, comfortably clothed, and 

 waiting for dinner at the Hotel at Sus, and persuading myself that 

 there were things in life as important as Erebia gorr/e, E. ijlacialis, 

 and Anthrocera exulans. The next morning broke — cloudless — not a 

 wisp on the mountains that surrounded the summit of the Fluela, but 

 it called me no longer ; the hot sun shone on Sus, and after my 

 ignorance of its power for some days, I just revelled in it. I required a 

 sun-bath and R'Ot it. 



Lepidopterological Observations in Ceylon in December. 



By CECIL FLOERSHEIM, B.A., F.E.S. 

 The following notes on the butterflies observed in Ceylon during a 

 brief visit to that island in the December of last year (1908), may be 

 of interest to some readers of the Ent. Btecord. The species described are 

 mostly well-known, but, as the eye of the observer was new to the 

 phenomena of tropical life, the strangeness of the medium may, in 

 some measure, atone for the familiarity of the subject-matter. My 

 wife and I arrived at Colombo on the morning of December 6th, and 

 our introduction to the Sinhalese lepidoptera was not long delayed, as 

 we had scarcely left the ship's side in the row-boat which was to convey 

 us across the harbour to the landing-stage, Avhen a large red, black, 

 and white Pajjilio, resembling somewhat a gigantic Pi/rannis atalanta, 

 flew across our bows. On the long and glaring way to the Galle Face 

 Hotel, I saw others of the same species, identified later on as Papilio 

 hector, as well as many Papilio deiiioletis and Hypolitnnas to^/^m, which, 

 intermingled with numbers of a small yellow Terias, flew along the 

 open lawns which border the sea-shore. The butterflies were very 

 conspicuous against the vivid green of the grass, and its background 

 of palms and other tropical vegetation which entitle Ceylon, rather than 

 Ireland, to the name of the Emerald Isle. During the remainder of 

 my visit I never met with Papilio demoleus again in the same abundance, 

 but HypoUiiinaH holina I found ubiquitous, and, indeed, next to the 

 various species of Terias, which seem to take in Ceylon the place which 

 their cousins, the white Pierids, occupy at home, the commonest 

 butterfly in that island. A drive in the outskirts of Colombo during 

 the afternoon brought nothing new in the entomological way, but I was 

 surprised at the abundance of I'apilio hector, of which gorgeous insect 

 I counted no fewer than ten in sight at one time on a piece of waste 

 ground near the race-course. Most of these must have been females, 

 for those I watched were flying slowly at a distance of some three feet 

 from the ground in and out of the tangled undergrowth, in 

 apparent search for the Aristolochia, on which they oviposit. 

 On the following day we left Colombo for Kandy, and the leisurely 

 rate at which the train proceeds after leaving the low country, 

 gave us opportunity both to enjoy the magnificent scenery and to 

 observe the butterflies by the wayside, amongst whom I noticed 

 I'apilio agaiiieinnon — remarkable for its swifter flight — and Papilio 

 polytes and P. aristolchiae, as well as most of the usual Terias and 

 Hi/polinina.t holina. The first morning of our short stay at Kandy was 

 spent in a visit to the famous botanical gardens at Peradeniya, and on 



