EVERES ARGIADES, PALL., ETC. 303 



This species, first described by Moore from examples taken in the 

 North-west Himalayas, was sunk under the name parrhasiufi, Fab., by 

 Elwes, in 1888, when the latter stated that "this was merely a tropical 

 form of the wide-ranging ai-ijiades, Pall." Two years later, evidently 

 overlooking Elwes' statement, de Niceville, in 1890, wrote: "No 

 author has placed the parrhasius of Fabricius and the dipora of Moore 

 as synonyms of an/iades, but no author has undertaken to show how 

 thsse three species differ ; I can find absolutely no character by which 

 to separate them ; in every direction the species is a most variable one, 

 and these variations are not confined to any particular region or 

 locality, though every variation could not be found in any one place." 

 In the imaginal stage the direction of the median transverse row of spots 

 on hindwing varies from that of any form of art/iades : in dipora the 

 four spots in the centre of this row are regular in series and at some 

 distance from the discoidal lunule ; in ari/iades, the same four spots 

 curve rapidly round so that the fourth is quite near to the bottom of 

 the discoidal lunule; the fourth spot is, therefore, in dipora, remote 

 from the discoidal lunule as in parrhasius. Chapman points out that 

 the (3' ancillary appendages are also distinct. He further notes that 

 it is curious that dipora and ari/iades var. diporides seem to inhabit 

 North India together, and to resemble each other very much, so that 

 when one has a broad black marginal border to the wings, so has the 

 other. 



BiNGHAMiA PARRHASIUS, Fab., " Ent. Sys.," iii., pt. 1, p. 289 (1793); Don., 

 "Ins. Ind.," pi. xlv., fig. 5 ( <? ) (1795); God., " Enc. Meth.," ix.. p. 657 (1823) ; 

 Horsf., "Cat. Lep. E. Ind. Com.," p. 86 (1829): Horsf. and Moore, "Cat. 

 Lep. Mus. East Ind. Co.," p. 22, pi. ia., fig. 3 ( d" ) (1857); Butl., "Cat. 

 Diurn, Lep.," p. 165 (1869) ; Snell., " Tijd. voorEnt.," xxi., p. 19 (1878) ; Semp., 

 " Journ. des Mus, Godef.," xiv., p. 155 (1879) ; Moore, " Lep. Ceylon," i., p. 85, 

 pi. xxxvi., fig. 7 (1881) ; Wood-Mason andDe Nicev., " Journ. As. Soc. Beng.," i., 

 p. 234 (1881) : Dist:, " Rhop. Mai.," p. 221, fig. 66 ( <f ) (1884) ; Elwes, " Trans. 

 Ent. Soc. Lond.," pp. 382-3 iu part (1888) ; Argiades, de Nicev., "Butts. Sum.," 

 p. 455, in part (1895). — Hesperia Ruralis. Alls caudatis CLeruleis (fuscis) subtus 

 cinereis albo strigosis ; posticispunctis marginalibusaureis. Papilio parrhasius. Ion 

 fig. pict. 6, tab. 16, fig. 2. Habitat in India, Dom Drury. Parva. Alae omnes 

 cceruleffi margine fusco et posticte ante marginem striga punctorum nigrorum, 

 ocellatorum. Subtus omnes cinereae, pone medium albo undata3. Postic.'t' prffiterea 

 punctis tribus baseos atris annulo albo cinctis, apice punctis quatuor aureis : tertio 

 puncto atro natato (Fabricius). 



It has been generally assumed, no doubt correctly, that the insect 

 described by Fabricius, is the one so generally distributed, and locally 

 abundant, all over Southern and Further India, the Malay Archipelago, 

 the East Indies, extending into West and North Australia in the south, 

 and reaching into North India, where it overlaps Fh-eres dipora in the 

 north. This insect, judged onl}' by the appearance of the series in the 

 British Museum collection, is most distinct, and can hardly be mistaken, 

 even superficially, for any other species. Moore and Distant treated 

 it as distinct, the former correctly discriminating it from the species 

 he described as dipora, and recognising also that the latter was 

 specifically distinct from an/iades, Pallas. Moore figured and described 

 parrhasius at length in his Lep, of Ceylon, etc., i., p. 85, pi. xxxvi., 

 fig. 7, in 1881, as folloAvs : — - 



i 1mm., ? l-25mm. 3 Upperside: All wings deep violet-blue, with a narrow, 

 brown outer-marginal band ; the band of the hindwing with black spots slightly 

 bordered with white. Underside : Wings greyish-white ; forewing with a white- 

 bordered, dusky-brown, discocellular lunule, an outer discal lunular line, and two 



