NYMPHALID.E. NYMPHALINiE. CIIARAXES. 275 



In India C. schreiben is a very rare species, the Indian Museum possesses a single 

 male taken in the Wynaad by Mr Rhodes-Morgan, Mr. J. L. Sherwill has sent me another 

 male taken at Jorehat in Assam, and Mr. Harold S. Ferguson has sent a single forewing 

 found on the ground in Travancore. The two former differ from Mr. Distant's description in 

 having the discal white band on the forewing continued up to the lower discoidal nervule, 

 the Wynaad specimen with two quadrate white spots placed above and beyond its upper 

 end— the lower spot four times as large as the upper one— divided by the upper discoidal 

 nervule ; the discal band is also less broad than shown in Mr. Distant's figure ; the Jorehat 

 specimen has the discal band much narrowed anteriorly, with a spot beyond in the upper 

 discoidal interspace. The single wing from Travancore (which is probably that of a female) 

 has^ the discal band twice as broad as in the Wynaad example, and the two upper spots joined 

 to It and very large. The Jorehat specimen alone has the subapical spot in the forewing 

 between the fourth and fifth subcostal nervules shown in Dr. Horsfield's figure. 



568. Oharases athamas, Drmy. 



PapiUg athamas, Drury, III. Ex. Ent., vol. i, p. 5, pi. ii. figs. 4 (1770); id., Cramer, Pap. E.v., vul. i, pi. Ixxxix, 

 figs. C, D (1776); NymZ-halis athamas, Coii!Ln,-E.nc.U6th., vol ix, p. 353, n. ii (1823); id., Horsfield and 

 Moore, Cat. Lep. M„s. E. I. C, vol. i, p. 205, n. 417, pi. vi, figs. 3, larva; ^a, fiupa (1857) ; Charaxes atha,„as, 

 Butler, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1865, p. 634, n. 45 ; Jasia athama, Swainson, Zool. 111. Ins., vol. ii, pi. Ixc 

 (1833); Eribcea athamis, Hubiier, Verz. bek. Schmett., p. 47, n. 430(1816); Papilio pyrrhus, Donovan 

 (nee Linnaeus), Ins. Ind., pi. iiix, fig. 3 (iSoo) ; C/ucraxes bharata, Felder, Reise Novara, Lep., vol. iii, d. 438 

 n. 712 (1867); id., Butler, Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond, 1870, p. 119, n. 3; C. samatha, Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. 

 Lond., 1878, p. 831 ; Eulepis samatha, id., Lep. Cey., vol. i, p. 29, pi. xiv, figs. 2, male ; la, female ; 2d, larva 

 and/?</« (i88i) ; Cliaraxes athamas, \a.r, samatha,'D\?,t.z.n\.,'S.\iop.'^'i3X3.y., p. 106, n. 4, pi. xiii, fig. 8 juale 

 (1883) J Eulepis hajKitsta, Moore, Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1882, p. 238; Charaxes agrarius, Swinhoe, MS. 



Habitat : Throughout the hilly portions of India, Ceylon, Burma, Andaman Isles, 

 Malay Peninsula, Java, China. 



Expanse : $ , 2-2 to 32; ? , 3"2 to 3*5 inches. 



Description : Male. Upperside deep indigo-blue. Foreiaing with a small spot in the 

 upper discoidal interspace near the apex, a larger one placed inwardly below it in the next 

 interspace, a broad discal band bounded anteriorly by the third median nervule, not extending 

 into the cell, slightly less than 3 of an inch* in breadth at the inner margin— all greenish-yellow. 

 Hindivihg with a similar band from the costa, but rapidly narrowing to a point on the fiist 

 median nervule above the anal angle, a submarginal series of small whitish spots, two long fine 

 tails at the extremities of the third and first median nervules, a whitish spot on the margin 

 between the inner tail and the anal angle. Underside, both wings olive brown, with the discal 

 band as above, but paler, its inner margin with a rich chestnut-red band defined on both sides 

 with black in its middle portion, extending as far as the outer edge of the discal band in the 

 forewing. Forewing with the lower subapical spot only, two small, black, white-ringed spots 

 placed obliquely above one another in the cell, a series of increasing lunulate spots placed just 

 beyond the discal band, the outer margin broadly darker. Hindzoing with the outer edge of the 

 discal band prominently defined with a rich chestnut-red line which extends to the abdominal 

 margin above the anal angle, divided by bluish-silvery lunules, the outer margin darker than 

 the rest of the wing, and bearing a submarginal series of diffused whitish spots, with blackish 

 spots placed outwardly against them, then a fulvous marginal line, the tails bluish-silvery. 



The above description is taken from the type figure by Drury in which the discal band at 

 the inner margin of the forewing is just under -3 of an inch in breadth, and there are two 

 apical spots on the forewing. It may be assumed that Drury figured a male specimen. I 

 possess examples agreeing with this form from Sikkim, Sibsagar, Cherrapunji, Sylhet, Cachar, 

 Chittagong, Upper Tenasserim, Orissa, the Wynaad, South Andaman Isles, and Java. 



The width of the discal band, the number and the prominence of the subapical spots, 

 and indeed all the markings of the upperside are very variable in this species ; these variations 

 are considered by many authorities to be constant, and no less than four of them have been 

 described as distinct species, as detailed below. 



* Exactly seven millimetres. 



