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LYCMNA VllERETES AND ITS ALLIES IN THE SIKHIM 



HIMALAYAS. 



By W. Harcourt-Bath. 



In that very creditable and painstaking work, ' The Butter- 

 flies of India, Burmah, and Ceylon,' the author, Mr. Lionel de 

 Niceville, describes as distinct species Lyctena leliana, Moore, 

 from Ladak, and L. pheretes, Hiibner, from Sikhim. Sub- 

 sequently, however, in the ' Gazetteer of Sikhim,' he unites 

 them under the former, and explains that " the Himalayan form 

 of L. pheretes may be distinct from the European and Central 

 Asian form, but the Ladak and Sikhim forms are practically 

 identical." 



During my journey through Sikhim in 1897 I encountered 

 three distinct forms of, or three species closely allied to, Lyccena 

 pheretes : — 



No. 1. — The first, which I found near Yeumtung at the altitude 

 of 12,000 to 13,000 ft., is apparently the species given as Lyaena 

 pheretes, Hiibner, var. asiatica, Elwes, in the ' Butterflies of 

 India, &c.' In exj)anse it measures just about the same as the 

 form found in the Swiss Alps, namely, 1*1 in. ; but, as pointed 

 out by Mr. de Niceville, it differs from the latter in the " nar- 

 rower and pointed fore wings, and in having much more gloss on 

 the under side." To this I may add that in the Sikhim form 

 the blue is more brilliant, and the shape of the white spots on 

 the under side of the hind wings is slightly different. The female 

 is pale brown on the upper side. 



No. 2. — This form, which I propose to call Lyccena sikhima, 

 was taken about 1000 ft. higher up than the preceding, in the 

 upper limits of the pine forests, and appears to be sufliciently 

 distinct from the preceding, although aberrations were found some- 

 what intermediate between the two. In size it is very much inferior 

 to No. 1, measuring under an inch in expanse, with much narrower 

 and very pointed wings ; but the principal distinction is in the 

 colour, which gives it a very different appearance, being of the 

 same tint of lilac as British specimens of Cyaniris argiolus. The 

 female is very similar in colour to that of No. 1. I have not 

 seen Lyccena lehana from Ladak, but, judging from the descrip- 

 tion of it in Mr. de Niceville's work, it somewhat resembles this. 

 He briefly describes it as follows : — " Expanse, '9 to 1 in. Male 

 upper side violet- blue, brownish blue at the margins. Differs 

 from L. pheretes in their much smaller size." This agrees with 

 the Sikhim form as regards size, but not in the colour of the 

 margins of the wings. As far as I can judge, without seeing 

 specimens of the Ladak form, the latter appears to be some- 



