136 SPOLIA ZEYLANICA. 
It is peculiar to Ceylon, but is very near pyrene, from which 
it differs in having the ground colour of the fore wing extended 
into the base of interspace 3. This seems to be constant, 
though very variable in amount. 
The males vary chiefly in the width of the black border of 
the hind wing and the amount of markings on the under side. 
The females vary in the same way, but the band on the fore 
wing also varies much in width and colour. In specimens 
from the north this band is usually yellow or pale orange, in 
those from the south it 1s almost always deep orange. In 
Ceylon the ground colour of the female is, I believe, always 
yellow, slightly paler than that of the male. 
It is an insect of the dry low-country, but in some years it 
joins in the flights in November—December, and may then be 
found anywhere. I have known it then common at Haldum- 
mulla, Peradeniya, and Galle, none of which places are its 
usual haunts. It is very plentiful in the low-country of Uva 
and at Anuradhapura, but becomes rarer in the Northern 
Province. It is not easy to catch, as it is usually found among 
thorny bushes, and dives into them to escape. The female is 
especially hard to procure in good condition. The males 
sometimes settle on wet patches on the roads or in river beds. 
“From North Matale to Anuradhapura and Puttalam ” 
(F. M. Mackwood). 
160. Ixtas MARIANNE.—Also found in India. 
Its habitat is much the same as that of the last, but it prefers 
more open country, and is commoner in the Northern Province. 
It is very plentiful in the Jaffna and Mannar Districts. It 
flies more away from the thorny bushes, and is therefore much 
easier to catch. I have never seen it settling on wet patches 
on the roads. I have once only seen a specimen at Haldum- 
mulla during the flights, and, in my opinion, it does not 
** flight.” 
The male varies very little, but in the female the black inner 
border to the orange band is sometimes missing between veins ~ 
2 and 4, and the ground colour of the under side varies greatly. 
A melanism of the 3 of this species, captured by myself in 
the Hambantota District, is described and figured in “ Spolia 
Zeylanica,” Vol. [X., Part X XXIII. 
