194 LYCANIDE. TARUCUS. 
The figure shows both sides of a male specimen fiom Kulu in the Indian Museum, 
Calcutta. 
758. Tarucns plinius, Fabricius. 
Hesperia plinius, Fabricius, Ent. Syst., vol, iii, pt. 1, p. 284, n. 92(1793) ; Papilio plinius, Donovan, 
Ins. Ind., pl. xlv, fig. 1 (1800) ; Polyommatus plinius, Godart, Enc. Méth., vol. ix, p. 658, n. 140 (1823) ; 
Lycena plinius, Horsfield, Cat. Lep. E. I. C., p. 72,n. 7 (2828) 3 Tarucus plinius, Moore, Lep. Cey-» 
vol. i, p. 82, pl. xxxvi, fig. 4 (1881) ; id., Swinhoe, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1884, p. 506, n. 23; idem, id., 
1. c., 1885, p. 133, n. 69 ; idem, id., 1. c., 1886, p. 427, n. 53 ; Lampides casstus, Cramer, var. plinius, Butler, 
Cat. Fab. Lep. B. M., p. 164, n. 6 (1869) ; ? plintus, Doherty, Journ. A. S. B., vol. lv, pt. 2, p. 132, 
n, 161 (1886) ; Lycaena fulchra, Murray, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., 1874, p. 524, pb. x, figs. 7, we2le ; 8, female 5 
Tarucus pulcher, Butler, Proc, Zool. Soc. Lond., 1884, p. 483, n. 12. 
HapitaT: West Africa (A/urray), Aden (Butler), Karachi, N.-W. Himalayas, Kumaon, 
almost everywhere in the plains of India, Ceylon, Upper Burma, Java, Formosa. 
EXxPANSE: @, 2, I'0 to 1'2 inches. ; 
DESCRIPTION : “MALE. UPPERSIDE, 40th wings pale violet-blue, with a purple reflexion, 
sutrounded by a very delicate brown border fringed with white. UNDERSIDE, Joth wings 
white and variegated with oblique transverse or semi-transverse bands irregularly sinuated 
at their edges, oblong or tapering, of unequal breadth, and arranged in the following succes- 
sion :—Forewing, at the base a broad longitudinal band extends with a slight obliquity to the 
middle of the costa; between this and the interior margin is a triangular mark ; and before 
[beyond] this a transverse mark gradually attenuated towards the costa; an obscure 
evanescent band next extends from the exterior margin tothe disc ; and immediately 
exterior to this, a prominent band gradually increasing in breadth and terminated by 
a short point, passes over the disc; the band next in order is short, and near its 
termination a nearly circular or oblong spot is placed; two obliquely transverse bands 
now extend from the costa half across the wing, the first being oblong, the other attenuated 
or pyramidal ; the posterior margin is bounded by two regularly-continued strigze, the anterior 
of which is broader and slightly waving, enclosing a series of oblong marks. Hindzwing with 
these latter continued uniformly to the anal region, where the two last are of a deep black tint, 
with a yellowish iris, and covered with greenish resplendent irrorations ; to the last a very 
minute black spot at the extreme anal angle is applied; the margimal spot in the anterior 
apical angle is more pronounced than the rest ; the disc and base are variegated with very 
irregular oblong marks, with sinuated margins, transversely arranged, the posterior one 
being most conspicuous and decorated with acute radiant points directed to the margin. Tai? 
very slender and grayish at the base [tip]. Az‘exne and abdomen banded. FEMALE, 
Uppersipe, both wings greatly resembles Lycena [Castalius] rosimon, Fabricius ; the surfaces 
covered with transverse patches, and the blue tint, which is purely azure, is confined to the 
base. UNDERSIDE, 40th wings agree with the male in the disposition of the marks, but the 
surface is whiter, the bands are more intensely coloured, and their edges are more regularly 
defined. The radiated band in the Aindwing is less distinct than in the male, but the marks 
generally are more pronounced.” (Horsfeld, 1. c.) 
‘*The structure of the costal and subcostal nervures of the forewing shows that this 
species does not belong to Mr. Moore’s genus Zarucus.” (Doherty, 1. c.) 
“ T. plinivs is not so common as 7. theophrastus, Fabricius, but not rare, coming out at 
the same season. I have found the larva on Sesbania aculeata, an annual which springs up 
everywhere in Bombay during the rains, and shoots up toa height of six or seven feet and 
withers away in October. Its fragile leaves wither up a few minutes after being plucked, and it 
is no easy matter to rear a minute larva on them. I was successful with only one. I find it 
described in my notes as green and of the usual wood-louse form, with a dorsal ridge of smal} 
protuberances. The pupa, [from] which [the butterfly] came out in seven days, was greenish,. 
smooth, not a quarter of an inch long, and closely attached to the bottom of the pill-box in 
which it was kept.” (Ai/hen, Journ. Bombay Nat, Hist, Soc., vol, i, p. 217, n. 57 (1886), 
