124 Dr. G. B. Longstaffs Notes on the Butterflies 



P. dissimilis, L., I took three, but probably saw more, since 

 it so very closely mimics Tirumala limniace or a large 

 Paralitica ccylonica, as easily to pass for one of those 

 insects ; it is indeed most easily distinguished from them 

 by its habit of fluttering while feeding on a flower. One 

 of my specimens has the anal angle and a great portion 

 of both hind-wings bitten off in an almost symmetrical 

 manner, suggesting the bite of a lizard. It should be 

 noted, as was observed long ago by the President, that, 

 whatever the cause may be, it is in the great majority 

 of cases the hind-wings that suffer these injuries; doubt- 

 less the framework of the fore-wings is the stronger, 

 but that does not seem to be a sufficient explanation, 

 since from their greater length they must be more exposed 

 to chance injuries from thorns and the like. Mr. Freedley 

 took a Papilio that mimicked Euplcea, but I believe that 

 P. dissimilis is dimorphic, one form mimicking each genus. 

 Indeed it would appear that the name dissimilis implies 

 that its bearer is like anything rather than a Papilio. 



In a shaded glen down which a tiny stream and a foot- 

 path strove for the possession of the ground, I took close 

 to the water a faded specimen of my Kallar acquaintance 

 Papilio tclephus, and missed another that was drinking at the 

 mud. But far more exciting than all the before-mentioned 

 species was Papilio polymnestor, or as Moore has it, P. 

 yarinda, a truly magnificent fly that dashed about in all 

 directions. It measures about 5^ inches across the wings 

 and is rendered most conspicuous by its colouring — French- 

 grey and black. It rarely settled and was very hard to 

 catch ; Mr. Freedley and I were constantly striking at 

 it, but it almost always eluded us. After many fruitless 

 attempts I succeeded in netting two, one so battered that 

 its powers of flight were seriously impaired ; Mr. Freedley 

 was even less fortunate, probably because he had a very 

 small net. 



There was yet another Papilio which eluded me alto- 

 gether. It was black-and-green and I feel pretty sure 

 P. agame?)inon [which I also missed at Kallar in the 

 Nilgiris]. It had the extraordinary and most aggravating 

 habit of flying up and down, or rather backwards and 

 forwards, just like a sentry, over some small trees below 

 the road. Its path, if one may so call it, was about a dozen 

 yards in length, and it always turned round at the same 

 place, moving by a succession of jerks. I once actually 



