112 BUTTERFLIES. 



BUTTERFLIES. 



Note. — The works consulted for this paper are "The Butterflies of India, Burmah 

 and Ceylon," by L. de Niceville, and " Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of 

 Sikhim," by H. J. Elwesand Otto Moller. 



J. Gammie— 21-9-91. 



BoTTEiirLiES are extremely abundant in Sikhim. In the Catalogue 

 of the Butterflies of Sikhim, published in 1888 by Elwesand Moller, 

 536 species are enumerated, besides 8 more they were doubtful about. 

 But probably the species discovered since, and others still to be 

 discovered, will bring the number up to about 600, and this in a 

 small country of only 1,800 square miles. In the warmer valleys 

 butterflies are to be fouud in every month of the year, but are com- 

 paratively scarce from the end of November till after the middle of 

 March. Some of the species which are abundant at the lowest elevations 

 are also found more or less sj^aringly over a wide range of altitude; 

 as high as 8— 9,000 feet, but the majority of the cool-forest loving species 

 never by any chance go down to the hot valleys. la the lower valleys 

 the collector should start soon after the middle of March and keep 

 on till the end of November if he wishes to make a full collection. 

 At these low elevations the warmth alone, without sunshine, is suffi- 

 cient to keep the insects in movement ; but in the cool forests of the 

 higher altitudes few are to be seen unless the sun is sliining ; and 

 the season begins a month or two later and ends as much earlier. 

 The genus PapiKo is strikingly represented in Sikhim by no fewer 

 than 42 species. About one-half of the species remain always below 

 5,000 feet, at which height they are few in numbers, the majority 

 keeping below 3,500 feet, and are most numerous thence to the bottoms 

 of the valleys. They all frequent flowers, but several of them are 

 oftener to be seen feeding on the roads and riversides, especially on 

 damp spots. Of the well-known green species, with longish tails and 

 l)lue or green spots on the hindwing, there are four species, of which 

 puris and. ffanesa are the commonest, but they keep to the lower slopes, 

 hardly ascending above 4,000 feet. Krishna and arcturus which resem- 

 ble them, but have a distinguishing yellow bar across the forewing 

 and lower part of the hindwing, have a much wider range, ascending 

 to 9,000 feet, but rarely being found in the hot valleys. Machaon, a 

 European species, is not found below 10,000 feet or so, and gyas 

 keeps above 5,000. Glycerion and paphiis have semi-transj^arent wings 

 of a lace-like pattern, with long slender tails to the hindwings, and 

 are of a very elegant shape. They are found from low elevations 

 up to 4,000 and 9,000 feet respectively. Teinopalpus imperialis and 



