Observed in a tour through India and Ceylon. 87 



Calcutta, lat. 22° 30' N. Near sea-level. 

 December 4th— 12th, 1903. 

 Naturally one could not expect to turn up anything new 

 at Calcutta, the capital of India, and long the home of De 

 Niceville, that martyr to science who met his death in the 

 deadly Terai when in pursuit of his favourite butterflies. 

 However, I determined in the few days at my disposal to 

 get at any rate a sample of the fauna of Lower Bengal. 



The Eden Gardens, abutting on the Maidan and close to 

 Government House, bear much the same relation to 

 Calcutta as Kensington Gardens to London, and from their 

 proximity to the hotel afforded a convenient collecting 

 ground for odd hours. 



The Duranta was nearly over and the most attractive 

 feature proved to be a hedge of Lantana in full bloom. 

 These dissimilar plants both belong to the Verbenacem and 

 are both natives of the West Indies, although the latter 

 appears to have run wild in many parts of India, On that 

 hedge Limnas cJirysippus was in abundance, accompanied 

 by L. genutia, which I had not seen since I was at 

 Malakand, while numerous Tirumala limniaee and Crastia 

 core completed the company of the Danaids. I was able 

 to confirm my Benares observation that the male of L, 

 chrysippus has a slight but decided odour suggestive of 

 cockroaches, which is perhaps stronger when the scent 

 sacs on the hind-wings are opened, though of this I am 

 not sure. On the. other hand, the male of C, core has 

 a faint scent that suggested to me rancid oil, or old lamps. 

 So far as I could judge the scent is connected with the 

 hind-wings but not with the very conspicuous genital tufts. 

 At the Lantana flowers along with the Danaids were 

 abundance of Silastics gremius, Fab., a somewhat dingy 

 Skipper, also a few of the brilliant and conspicuous Delias 

 eucharis. The upper-side of the female of this species 

 faintly mimics Tirumala ; the male yielded on rubbing the 

 wings a sweet flowery scent, which I was not at first able 

 to describe, but later it struck me as resembling that of our 

 domesticated Ganoris rapse and suggestive of sweet-briar. 

 Dr. Dixey informs me that scent-scales are very numerous 

 in Delias. 



In the shadier parts of the garden together with numer- 

 ous Terias hecabe, one at least of markedly wet-season 

 type, and many Yphthima hiibneri, Kirby, several Nychi- 

 tona xiphia were found, which, as ever, reminded me of 



