NOTE ON SPECIES OF MYCALBSIS. 71 



FURTHER NOTE ON SPECIES OF MYGALESIS. 



By N. Mandbrs, Major R.A.M.C. 



FOUR species of the (Jalysisme group of Mycalesls have been 

 described from Ceylon, viz., Mycalesis {Gahjsisme) rama, 

 Moore ; siibdita, Moore ; perseus, Fa.h.; -And polydecta, Cramer. Of 

 these, C. rama is little known, only a few specimens having been 

 taken by Mr. Pole near Udngama in July, and a note was made 

 by me concerning it in Spolia Zeylanica, vol. T., part I., most 

 unfortunately by a lapsus calami under the name M. suhdita. 

 With regard to the other three species, M. suhdita can be easily 

 distinguished in the male by the characters given by Moore, Lep. 

 Ind., but the female is very difficult to discriminate from 

 M. polydecta or perseiis, especially in the dry-season form. All 

 my females of M. subdita bred in the wet season can be dis- 

 tinguished from the wet-season M. polydecta or perseiis by having 

 a small additional ocellus on the under surface of the fore wing 

 immediately below, and almost confluent with, the larger one, 

 which is situated between the first and second median nervnles ; 

 but this is probably not a reliable character. I am unable to 

 distinguish the unocellated dry-season females. I described the 

 transformations of this insect (Journ. Bomb. Nat. Hist. Soc, 

 vol. XIIL). So far as I know, M. suhdita occurs only on the Trin- 

 comaleeside of the Island, where it is uncommon, particularly the 

 dry-season form, which I have very rarely found, and this is 

 the more noteworthy as this side of Ceylon has a dry climate for 

 the greater portion of the year. 



M. perseus has two forms : the wet-season is M. blasius, Fab., 

 and the dry -season M. perseus, Fab. M. polydecta has also two 

 forms, M.justina, Cramer, being the wet and M. polydecta, Cramer, 

 the dry. Whether these two insects are really distinct is a question 

 which can probably only be decided by a series of breeding experi- 

 ments. Ormiston thinks they are the same, and states that 

 according to his experience elevation has a great deal to do with 

 these various forms. I have eighteen specimens of this species 

 from Ceylon selected from a large number. Of these, ten are M. 

 blasius (the wet-season form) taken at Haldummullain December, 

 at about 4,000 ft. elevation, and two males of the same season from 



