NYMPHALID^. ELYMNIIN.E. DYCTIS. 279 



The only other recorded notice of tliis species is by Hcvvitson who figures the underside 

 in his "Exotic Butterflies," and adds the following short description, which somewhat differs 

 from Westwood's quoted above. " Upperside : dark brown ; crossed near the outer margin 

 by a curved band of six large ill-defined lilac spots. Iliiidwbi" with a marginal band of five in- 

 distinct grey spo/s. Underside red-brown, closely undulated throughout with grey. Fore- 

 wing with the apex nearly white, marked with two black spots. Hindwing witli a black spot 

 dotted with white near the costal margin before the middle, and a submarginal band of five 

 black spots indistinctly dotted with wltite^ {Etwitson, 1. c.) 



The Indian Museum, Calcutta, contains a single male specimen of this rare species, which 

 was taken by Ur. J. Anderson in the Mergui Archipelago on the 20th December, 188 1, It is 

 smaller than the types, being 2 "3 inches in expanse ; the forewing is, as in Hewitson's descrip- 

 tion, "crossed near the outer margin by a curved band of six large ill-defined lilac spots," the 

 spots near the apex being elongate, almost coalescent, and separated only by the dark nervules ; 

 all the spots more or less irrorated with white in the centre ; but the hindwing is as in West- 

 wood's description, the outer margin broadly grey, outwardly almost pure white, inwardly dif- 

 fused and irrorated with lilac ; the extreme outer margin is narrowly blackish. 



The shape of the wings oi D. esaca is very peculiar, and sufficient to distinguish it at a 

 glance from all other Indian Elyniniince, indeed from almost every other Indian Butterfly ; the 

 costal and inner margins of both wings are all of nearly equal length, so that the outline be- 

 tween the apex of the forewing and the anal angle of the hindwing is an arc of a circle with its 

 centre at the base of the wings. 



37 



