88 MELANITIS. By Dr. A. Seitz. 



They tly fast with a tumbling flight on roads in the forest, and settle on moist places in the woods, returning 

 to them after a verj' short time when disturbed. They also like to rest on damp rocks in the shade, and 

 are on the wing on cloudy days as well as when the sun shines (Elwes). 



dumicola. R. duttiicola Olx'vtli. (B2e). Black -brown above, with numerous light yellow spots; beneath dull 



yellow, with numerous thin or thick black lines and before the margin a narrow orange band. — In West 

 China, not plentiful. 



moorei. R. moorei Btlr. (-= satricus Moori') (32 c). The spots of the upperside darker yellow and sparser. 



Midwa}' between U. dumicola and satridis as regards colour and pattern, but smaller than both. Hindwing 

 beneath with a row of submarginal ocelli, which have very vivid pupils. — In the western Himalaya, 

 Kashmir, in the autumn, not plentiful, but sometimes more abundant (Doherty). 



satricus. R. satricus Doiihl. (32 c). Upperside bright deep orange. Underside similar in colour to upper, 



hindwing with a row of submarginal ocelh which have very vivid wliite pupils. — In China rather rare, 

 larger and much more abundant in North India. 



7. Genus: Melauitis F. 



The species of MelanitiH are large dark buttertlies which have affinities to the forms of Letlie as well 

 as to the genus Ncope. The veins are all strong, being distinctly raised above the wing-membrane, but none 

 are inflated at the base as in Zophoensa . The cell of the forewing is very broad, and the submedian vein, 

 which is quite straight in Lethe, is somewhat curved, the wing therefore being verj' broad as compared with 

 the delicate and weak body. The distal edge of both wings, from the apex of the forewing, which is often 

 produced into a sharp point, to the small tail of the hindwing, which is always present, forms an almost 

 straight line, the anal angle of the forewing as well as the apex of the hindwing being strongly produced. 

 The ground-colour of the upperside is alwa3's uniformly dark brown in the Palaearctic species, there only 

 being occasionally an apical ocellus; some Indian species have a light band on the forewing. The underside 

 is strongly liable to variation according to season and locality. — The larvae are spindle-shaped, with 

 2 rather long horns on the head, the body being covered with a tine velvety pile and ending posteriori}' in 

 two processes. They are green, with lighter and darker longitudinal lines, and feed on bamboo, suggar-cane 

 and other Gramineae. The butterflies rest in day-time at the foot of trees or among leaves, also on the 

 bare ground, anil when flushed only tly a few yards, settling again with the wings always closed. At night, 

 however, they swarm briskly about and suck at the sap of trees and at fallen off fruits of trees. They 

 come to the baits, as well as to the bright light of lanterns. Their flight is unsteady, tumbling, but rather 

 fast. They are not shy and therefore easy to catch. They belong to the most abundant butterflies where 

 they occur, only being rare towards the borders of their area of distribution. 



leda. M. leda L. (32 e). Uniformly dark brown above, there being a black rounded spot with a white 



pupil before the apex of the forewing as well as above the anal angle of the hindwing. Under surface 

 grey, densely and minutely striated; hindwing with several ocelli of various sizes, bearing white pupils 

 ismene. and being often edged with yellow. Abundant during the rains of the summer. — ismene Cr. (32 e) 

 is the corresponding winter- form, flying during the dry season. Larger, the apical ocellus of the forewing 

 with double pupil and usually surrounded by orange-red spots; the underside is simple, without the minute 

 striolation of hda, bearing often dark patches and clouds ; instead of ocelli there only are small rings or dots. 



To give a general and concise description of this variable species is not possible. The form ismene 

 especially is extraordinarily changeable. There are hardly two specimens alike among 68 which I caught in 

 China in a few days and in a place of little extent. The underside may be grey, clay-colour, earth-brown, or 

 — as in fig. 32 e — brownish red, uniform in colour or dark-banded, without any trace of ocelli, with dots, 

 black square spots or small rings. On the whole the colour of the under surface of the wings depends 

 somewhat on the soil, on slopes with rocks of basalt a grey lead-colour being jirevalenf, on sand an ochreous 

 shade, and on red ferriferous rocks the red-brown tint. But I have also found specimen strongly contrasting 

 with the soil, for instance leaden-grey ones on reddish yellow sand, etc. The insects then appear to be 

 copies of dry leaves, sometimes the veins of a leaf being distinctly imitated. 



As in Mt/calesis we also here do not find an alternation of generations, but with the change of the 

 season a certain form commences to tly and becomes more and more predominant, de Niceville has bred 

 the larvae from the batch of eggs laid by one?. These larvae did not grow at the same rate and the 

 time of appearance of the butterflies also was different. The first specimens which emerged resembled the 

 mother, the later individuals assuming the garb of the form which was on the wing during the meanwhile 

 changed season. In India, where the larvae grow very fast, a brood going through all its stages of dev- 

 elopment in a few weeks, there are always several consecutive broods of the same form before it changes 

 into the other variety. Whether the number of broods is reduced to two in the Palaearctic Region, which 

 would regularly alternate, I have not been able to ascertain. 



