322 LEMONIID.^. NEMEOBIIN/E. ABISARA. 



6io. Aljisara chola, <ie N. 



A. rhela, de Nic<«ville, Journ, A. S. D., vol. Iv, pt. 2, p. 252, n. 4, pi. xi, fig. 7, male (1886). 



Habitat : Sikkini, Sylliet. 



Expanse: ^, 17510 rgo; ?, 190 inches. 



Description : " Male. Upperside, both wings dark fuscous-biowu. Fornving with 

 an oblique white discal band from the middle of the costa to about the middle of the 

 submedian interspace, variable in width ; a submarginal narrow white line, sometimes distinct 

 throughout its length, at others blurred in the middle, but always ending in a distinct white spot 

 at the costa ; one or two short fine white marginal lines at the anal angle. Hindwing with two 

 submarginal rounded black spots divided by the discoidal netvule, the upper one the smaller and 

 outwardly circled with white, the lower one marked anteriorly and posteriorly with white ; the 

 outer portion of the discoidal and third median nervules orange ; three somewhat indistinct 

 black lunular spots on the margin in the median and submedian interspaces, inwardly defined 

 with a pale line, the spots in the submedian interspace geminated ; two fine interrupted white 

 marginal lines ; tail short and marked with white ; an ill-defined discal pale band, inwardly 

 sharply defined, outwardly blurred. Underside, bolh wings much paler, all the markings 

 more distinct, /b/vzo^/;/^ with the discal and submarginal bands much broader than above, 

 the latter always well-marked throughout its length. Hindwing marked as above, but the 

 space from the discal band to the margin irrorated with white, the outer portion of all the 

 veins orange. Female. Upperside, both -wings paler than in the male, tinged throughout 

 with ferruginous, the veins of the hindwing more broadly marked with orange. Underside 

 with the same differences as above." 



" Allied to A. neophron, Hewitson, which occurs in the same places with it, and in Sikkim 

 in the same months ; differs from it in its smaller size, usually broader discal band on the fore- 

 wing, the submarginal line usually more prominent, and always ending anteriorly in a white 

 spot, which is never the case in A. neophron; markedly also in the length of the tail, it being 

 fully twice as long in A, neophion as it is in A. chela.'' {de Niceville, 1. c.) 



Mr. Otto MoUer has obtained numerous specimens of this species at low elevations in 

 Sikkim ; there is a single male specimen from Sylhet in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. 



An allied species occurs in the MaLay Peninsula, which differs chiefly from A. neophron, 

 and A, chela in its paler colouration throughout ; the discal band of the forewing on the upper- 

 side is much blurred and very indistinct, as is also the submarginal band, which in A. savitri 

 is even broader than the discal band, in the Indian species it is a mere line. A description of 

 it is given below.* 



The remaining species all belong to the typical group of the genus Abisara. The type 

 of the genus and of this group is the P. echerins of StoU (Supplement to Cramer's Pap. Ex., 



* Abisara savitri, Felder, Wien. Ent. Monatsch., vol. iv, p. 397. n. 12 (i860) ; id., Butler, Trans. Linn. 

 Soc Zoology, second series, vol. i, p. S4Si "• ' ('877) ; id.. Distant, Rhop. Malay., p. 189, n. i, pi. xviii, 

 fip- c; /fw«/(r (1883) ; Sospita snsa, Hewitson, Ex. Butt., vol. ii, Sos/>ita pi. i, fig. 2, Jiiale (1861). Habitat : 

 lnA\a. (Hewitson), Province Wellesley, Malacca, Ayer Panas, Singapore. Expanse: Male, 2-1 ; female, 1-75 to 

 2"oo inches. Description : " Male. Upperside, both wiiigs rufous-brown. Forewing crossed transversely 

 beyond the' middle by two nearly parallel bands of rufous-white, the outer margin from the middle to the anal 

 ant'le pale, traversed by a dark line. Hindwing tailed, crossed by two curved bands, one near the outer 

 margin' waved and forming a border to two black spots near the apex, a submarginal bind of white traversed 

 by a black line, the tail white. Underside as above." {Hewitson, \. c.) " Femalk. Upperside, both wings 

 pale ochreous-brown. Foretving with two pale transverse fascije crossing the apical half, and with two narrow 

 submarginal pale linear fascia, each outwardly bordered with fuscous. Hindwing with two broad pale fasciae 

 continuous to those of the forewing, the first somewhat curved and e.\tending to the abdominal margin, the 

 second situated near the outer margin .^nd containing two large black spots with whitish surroundings separated 

 by the discoidal nervule, a smaller spot situated between the subcostal nervules, and two small and subobsolete 

 spots at anal angle ; marginal linear fasciaj as on forewing, the outer margin long and linearly caudate at apex 

 of upper median nervule, this prolongation being white. Underside as above. Body and legs more or less 

 concolourous with wings." (Distant,], c) r,- . r j ■, j , ■ , 



Mr. Hewitson vaguely gives India as the habitat of his A. s7/sa. It was described almost simultaneously 

 by Dr. Felder under the name of .^. ^ae'//^/, by which name the species should be known. I prefer to unite 

 them under one species .as has been done by Messrs. Hates and Kirby, and by Hewitson him.self, as I ran 

 find no character by which to divide them except the ground-colour which is darker as is usual in Mr. HeA'it- 

 son's figure of a male than it is in Mr. Distant's figure of a female, the latter author apparently considering 

 them distinct species, as he does not mention ^. J7<.r«. He probably followed Mr. Butler, who remarks that 

 A. snvitri " is quite distinct from the Indian species, A, sum of Hewitson." The male is also unknown to Mr, 

 Distant. 



