158 Mr. H. J. Elwes on Delias belladonna. 



thought it was, to say the least of it, premature to conclude tliat 

 the species was confined to the North-west Provinces, by which, 

 in this case, I suppose Mr. Butler means the Himalayan pro- 

 vinces of Kumaon and Gurvvhal. And I should here say that 

 the form whicli he described as D. itliiela from Penang is only 

 known from the Himalayas, and that if D. Hearseyi occurs at 

 Barrackpore it was probably brought there from some Hima- 

 layan station, for there is no evidence that any form of this 

 species occurs anywhere in the plains of Bengal or the North- 

 west Provinces. 



As my own collection is richer in this group than those 

 under Mr. Butler's charge, I will here give the facts, so far 

 as I can at present judge of them, supplementing them by a 

 letter which I received from Mr. De Niceville, of Calcutta, in 

 answer to my inquiries on the subject. 



I possess the following specimens, which appear to me to 

 represent three distinct but closely allied and variable forms ; 

 but these may possibly be shown by increased material from 

 Nepal and Western China to be undefinable, though typical 

 specimens of the three races can be recognized. 



Delias helladonna. 



Delias helladonna, Fab. Ent. Syst. iii. p. 180 (1793) ; Don. Nat. Rep. i. 

 t. XXXV. (1828). 



I have one male, taken by Abbe David at Moupin or in 

 some neighbouring locality in Western Szechuen, and one 

 male from Tsekon,in East Tibet, received from M. Oberthiir. 

 The latter gentleman informs me that he has one male and 

 one female from Moupin, two males from Tsekon, seven males 

 from Attentse (E. Tibet), and one male and one female from 

 E. Tibet, without precise locality ; none of these individuals 

 are, however, exactly like the figure in Donovan, and the 

 two which 1 possess resemble so closely the figure of Gray 

 {Horsjieldii) that I can see no reason to distinguish them. 



If, therefore, any insect does exist which is distinct from the 

 Himalayan Horsfieldii and like Donovan's plate, I should 

 expect it to be found in the mountainous regions of South- 

 western China, perhaps near Canton ; but I am not able at 

 present to see that there is sufficient evidence of such a fact, 

 as the exact locality of Dr. Staudinger's specimen is uncertain 

 and Donovan's plate is of doubtful accuracy. 



Delias Horsfieldii. 

 Delias Horsfieldii, Gray, Zool. Misc. i. p. 32 ; Insects of Nepal, pi. viii. 



fig. 2. 

 t=D. Hearseyi et Boylece, Butler, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1885, xv. 



p. 68. 

 Var. ? ithiela, Butler, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. 1869, iv. p. 242. 



