94 Dr. G. B. Longstaff's Notes on the Butterflies 



butterflies in the rainy season ; the harder it rained, they 

 said, the more insects there were in the short interludes 

 between the showers. 



On the high ground I got little ; Vanessa kashmirensis, 

 Pyrantels indica and cardui, none of them common, also 

 a brilliantly-coloured beetle, a species of Cassida. I saw a 

 school-boy catch Colias fieldii and a tailed " blue." At 

 Jalapahar, 7500 feet, I got a female Huphina nadina, 

 Luc. [ — remba, Moore]. 



The only chance was to go down into the valleys, but it 

 takes long to descend, and as the butterflies are for the 

 most part only "at home " from 10.0 a.m. to 2.0 p.m., one 

 does not get many hours' collecting ; moreover, from those 

 precious hours there are deductions to be made for cloudy 

 times, and for the shadows of woods, and the still deeper 

 shadows of lofty mountains. 



My first expedition, lasting three days on horseback, 

 was to the Tista valley, lying to the east of Darjiling. 

 December 17th, we went to Pashdk, about 17 miles, 

 sleeping at the Public Works Department rest-house, 

 about 2300 feet above the river, and about 3000 feet 

 above the sea. 



When we got down to about 4000 feet above sea-level 

 insects began to get fairly numerous, although it was late 

 in the day for butterflies. Vanessa kashmirensis was 

 common, and with them were several Pyrameis indica. I 

 secured two of the handsome White Hiposcritia lalage 

 [ = argyridana, Butl.], both females. Several Neptis astola, 

 Moore, were seen, mostly worn. At a shady turn of the 

 road I got Lethe rohria, F., an tegcria-\\ke Satyrid butter- 

 fly ; close by Arhopala areste, Hew., flashed azure in the 

 sunlight, but a specimen of another beautiful Lycsenid, 

 Spindasis vulcanus, F., was badly battered. Of Abisara 

 flegyas, Cr., and A. fylla, Doub., I netted one each, and a 

 large bee, Bombus funerarius ?, Smith, a ^, tempted me to 

 catch him. 



In the wood in which the rest-house stands Mycalesis 

 indistans, Moore, was in abundance ; this is a typical shade- 

 lover; when kicked up from the herbage it flaps about 

 three yards, like Epinephale janira, L., and then settles on 

 dead leaves or on the earth. Some of them had a slight 

 " list," but this did not seem to be a marked habit, possibly 

 because this position is not so advantageous in shade as in 

 sunlight, though the habit was first noticed in Melanitis, 



