MIISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 411 



than the English form — were noticed by me on cauliflower plants at Pesha- 

 war and Bannu. 



Pieris canidia. — Abundant at Peshawar, common also at Bannu and 

 Mussoorie, seems out here to largely take the place of the small cabbage 

 white — P. rapce — at home, but the flight of canidia is more rapid, parti- 

 cularly if the butterfly is alarmed, and more graceful than that of the 

 ' cabbage whites.' It is I consider a very graceful butterfly. 



The female of canidia may often be seen hovering quite close to the 

 ground, around a small low growing plant, presumably ovipositing. 



Noticing the small size of many females of canidia both at Naini Tal and 

 Peshawar and measuring 20 consecutive captures of each sex I found the 

 average expanse to be — 



Male 56'4 m.m. Female 53'1 m.m. 



Two males taken on one day measured 41 m.m. and 61 m.m., one being 

 vmder and the other over the limits given by Col. Bingham. What is the 

 reason for females of canidia in the N. W. of India so often being smaller 

 than males, for a friend tells me this is not the case among specimens 

 examined by him from further East F 



Synchlm lucilla. — This pretty little butterfly is common on the N. W. 

 Frontier in early spring, about rough stony undulating ground with small 

 scattered bushes, and owing to its size and markings escapes notice until 

 it is close. 1 have secured a number of good specimens by knocking them 

 over with a stick, for want of a net, though the loose stones and uneven 

 nature of the ground coupled with the erratic flight of the butterfly some- 

 times make the chase diflicult. It has an obliging way, when much 

 harrassed, of settling for a moment or two on the ground or on a leaf as 

 some colias occasionally do and so affords an opportunity of covering it 

 with the net. The green underside — deeper green in the female — assists 

 concealment of the butterfly among the yellowish green leaves of the little 

 bxishes so common where it occurs. 



Neope (Lethe ) pula/ia and Hestina nama both exhibit such attachment to 

 a particular spot that they will often allow repeated attempts at capture, 

 until, becoming too occupied with some rival, they are taken easily on the 

 wing. 



A Sephisa dichroa, settled about 20 feet up on an oak-tree, allowed me to 

 throw handfuls of shale and stones over it from below without its leaving 

 the tree. Sometimes it would remain on the leaf in spite of the stones 

 showering on and around it, or it woidd fly up towards a passing stone ; 

 until after about half an hour of this, its hind wings much torn by the 

 stones, it came down lower and was captured. Leech gives a very similar 

 account under this genus in his "Butterflies of China." 



On a bright sunny day early last spring I saw a small bat flying at noon 

 close above me about a stream, evidently enjoying the sunshine. It 

 settled on a tree and flew ofl" when I was about 10 feet away and soon 

 settled again somewhere about the bank overhanging the stream. 



When after butterflies one day in Surrey not long ago, on scraping 

 some sand I came upon a good specimen of a paleolithic flint instrument 

 and an unexpended Lee-Metford (blank) cartridge, two curious 

 companions ! 



H. D. PEILE, Majok, i.m.s. 

 MussooKiB, 21st May 1913. 



XXVIII.— NOTE CONCERNING ZEPHYRUS ATAXVS. 



In the Murree Hills Zephyrus ata.vus appeared last year (1912) about 

 June 21st, and from that date to the end of June was out in considerable 

 25 



