COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA. 421 



veins towards margin whitish crossed by a black snbterminal line. 

 Cilia whitish between the veins. 



Hindwing with a blackish quadrate spot about middle of the costa 

 between veins 7 and 8, margin of the wing marked as in the forewing, 

 but the black subterminal line broader and more prominent especially 

 towards the anal angle. 



Underside. — Forewing marked as on the uppersicle, but with 3 white 

 spots on the upper margin of the cell and the apical space beyond the 

 white band dull ochreous tawny. Traces of a submarginal row of white 

 spots. 



Hindwing as on the upper side but duller ochreous, paler in the disc 

 a black patch preceding the precostal spot and a black patch beyond the 

 outer margin of the cell. A submarginal row of white dots. The 

 terminal, subterminal, and presubterminal black lines being prominent. 



The above is the typical form of the female which is a close mimic 

 of the typical form of L. chrysippus. There are two other forms of 

 the female which are close mimics of the desert forms ChrysipptLS 

 sometimes known as L. dorippus and L. alcippus. The remarkable 

 thing about them is that while they are of course the common form of 

 the female in areas where dorippus and alcippus are the usual form 

 of clirysippus they also occur in areas — the neighbourhood of 

 Bombay for instance where neither dorippus nor alcippus have ever 

 been found or are ever likely to be. 



They both differ from the type in the white and black markings of 

 the apical area of the forewing being wanting. The area instead beino- 

 tawny. The alcippoides form has the whole of the discal area on 

 both sides of the hindwing whitish. Intermediate forms occur where the 

 outlines of the white apical marking of the forewing can be dimly traced. 



Larva black, head and legs reddish-brown. Ten longitudinal rows of 

 branched spines, dirty whitish in colour ; two long thick branchino 

 spines on the head. Food Plant. — Portulaca oieracea. 



Size: 2|"at3|". 



Plate B, Fig. 8 male, 8a female. 



Genus Vanessa. 



The genus Vanessa will I suppose prove the most familiar of all 



those dealt with in this series to English reader?. It contains many 



of our commonest and most prominent butterflies, the Peacock the 



Red Admiral, the two Tortoiseshells and so forth. The species figured 



