326 LEMONIID/E. NEMEOBIIN^. ABISARA, 



" Larva light green, vermiform, with numerous dorsal and lateral short fine hairs. 

 Feeds on Ardisia. Pupa light green, dorsally black spotted, hairy." {Moore, 1. c. in Lep. Cey.) 



1\\ Cey\on A. pntiiosa occurs in the "Western and Central Provinces, in forest land, 

 nearly all the year ; common. Has a rapid darting flight ; settles on the underside of leaves 

 with wings open" (Hutchison). " Plentiful amongst the undergrowth of open jungle, or by 

 roadsides. Low country and up to about 4,000 feet" (Mackwood). " Galle and Kandy" 

 r Wade), 



A. pricnosa is typically the darkest coloured and in the male most brilliantly purple-shot of 

 this group of the genus, specimens from Travancore being particularly large and dark. Even 

 among Ceylon specimens, however, I find considerable variation ; in some males the inner discal 

 band on the forewingis evenly convex, in others distinctly angled in the middle, and the purpls 

 suffusion is also variable ; the size and number of the black spots on both sides of the hindwing 

 is extremely inconstant, in one very abnormal specimen there are two subapical ones only, the 

 anal ones being entirely wanting. From an island one would expect to find some distinguishing 

 characters in a species supposed to be peculiar to it, but I have quite failed -to discover any. 

 I can only repeat that in my opinion the name echerins should apply to all the species of this 

 group of the genus Abisaia, except perhaps to the Andaman local race which has been named 

 bifasciata ; that as in this case the geographical range of numerous slight local races is not 

 segregated, and each local race must interbreed with the next on the boundary line which is 

 supposed to separate them, it can serve no good scientific purpose to pick out a few apparently 

 different specimens from each local race and to describe them, at the same time ignoring the 

 iategrade specimens which exist. 



