MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 293 
No. XXXIJ,—BUTTERFLIES AT SEA. 
A voyage from Karachi to Bombay on October the 28th, 1921, was 
remarkable for the numbers of Butterflies seen all day. From breakfast 
time onwards, some half a dozen or more insects were to be seen on the 
wing all day in about the length of the boat. Inthe afternoon they were 
decidedly more numerous, and at about 4-30 p.m., when opposite Madiapur 
on the Kathiawar Coast, at a distance estimated by the Captain as five to six 
miles the ship passed through an immense flight for some minutes. They 
were so thick that the Captain on the bridge had to brush them away from 
his face. The sea was strewn with many hundreds, and many fell on deck 
in such an exhausted condition that I picked them up in my fingers. The 
large majority, however, still flying strong continued their migration. 
During the whole day these insects were flying due East to the Indian 
Coast where had they come from the nearest land to the West, viz., 
the Arabian Coast is many hundreds of miles distant, and one cannot 
believe they travelled so long an expanse of sea without food or rest. Had 
they flown South from the Persian Coast, and then changed direction 
East. This seems unlikely as the Persian Coast at 4-30 p.m. must have 
been two hundred miles distance. Had they been blown out to sea by a 
strong Western current, and driven back by a reverse current ? Probably. 
The predominant species all day were Terias hecabe,and a white species 
probably Anapheis mesentina. Those actually identified having settled on 
the ship were 7. hecabe, Junonia lemonias, Papilio demoleus, Papilio aristolo- 
chie, Hypolimnas misippus, Colotis amata, a Euploea, probably core, and a 
Hesperid. 1 think I also recognised Junonia hierta on the wing. 
F. WALL, Cotonkt, I.M.s. 
BaNGALOoRE, lst December 1921. 
No, XXXIIl—ON THE HABITS OF A SCELIPHRON WASP 
(S. DEFORME). 
I give below a few observations made on a Sceliphron wasp. I have not 
made a special study of Hymenoptera, but this species of wasp seems to be a 
common visitor to the house and its interesting habits have led me to make a 
few notes. I could not fix the identity of the wasp with certainty, and thought 
it was a Sceliphron madraspatanum. I sent a specimen to the Society, 
which was identified as coming close to Sceliphron deforme, Sm., (Sc. formosum, 
Bingh., Fauna of Brit, Ind., Hymn., Vol. I, pp. 239-240), and that “ identical 
specimens of this species were obtained in the Murree Hills.” I am much 
obliged for this kindly assistance. 
I have made a few diagrams, but these, I fear, are merely rough drawings, 
and are not exactly works of art. I hope, however, that they will serve the 
purpose for which they are intended—that of making my written note clearer 
and easier to follow. I have also had five cells photographed so as to convey 
a better idea as to their beauty. 
In my bedroom alone several specimens of this Sceliphron have been busily 
engaged for the last two months. There are several groups of cylindrical mud 
cells fixed on various parts of the ceiling, and I have seen two insects working 
at the same time and independently of one another. I assume, therefore, that 
each lot of cells belongs to one insect, and that one wasp does not possess two 
or more lots of these strange and beautiful mud structures. 
Number and Distribution of Cells. 
On making an examination of the ceilings of the other rooms in my house, I 
