COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA. 309 



in the male, but the markings slightly broader. Antennse, head, thorax and 

 abdomen as in the male, the abdomen paler beneath. Exp. 80-98 mm. 



X, a rva. — "Head and legs black; body black, the colour, however, obscured 

 by orange-tawny markings. A broad orange-tawny dorsal stripe. Four 

 straight, horizontal, simple, black spines on head ; spines on pectoral seg- 

 ments black ; on abdominal segments pink tipped with black, on caudal 

 segments pink faintly black-tipped." 



Pupa. — "Head and wing-cases pale Indian-red; ten pale metallic spots 

 on back; abdomen dark pink; spines faintly black-tipped." This is ampli- 

 fied as follows : " The head ends in two well-separated blunt points ; there 

 are a pair of spines anteriorly, another in the middle, and a third smallest 

 pair posteriorly on the thorax, the latter being hunched and keeled : on the 

 abdominal segments there are eight pairs of spines, the third anterior 

 pair longest." 



Argynnis castetsi, Oberthiir. — This is the Southern Indian form of the insect, 

 differing from typical hyperbius which it otherwise closely resembles, differing, 

 in the male, in the upperside being of a richer, brighter shade of orange- 

 yellow ; the black markings smaller, darker, subterminal transverse lunules 

 of black terminal margin of hindwing of the same shade of orange-yellow 

 as the ground-colour, no lunules being blue. Underside: the olivaceous 

 brown on apex of forewing and variegating the hindwing of a greenish 

 golden tint. There is a sex-mark of specialized raised scales along the 

 middle of vein 1 on the upperside. It is probably a good species. 



The females seem to be dimorphic locally. The Nilgiri form resembles 

 the female of typical hyperbius; it differs on the upperside in the ground- 

 colour being pale golden-yellow ; in having the basal half of both wings 

 shaded with metallic green, in some specimens olivaceous ; the white oblique 

 band of forewing smaller, the purple-blue shading along its inner margin 

 less conspicuous, as is also the bluish tint on the white preapical spots and 

 subterminal marking ; the blue on subterminal lunules of hindwing also less 

 marked. Underside the same as in hyperbius but the ground-colour on fore- 

 wing paler terra-cotta red ; the variegating olivaceous brown of hindwing 

 distinctly greener. 



As described from Trichinopoly the female is similar to the male, differing 

 as follows : — Upperside : ground-colour pale golden-yellow ; basal half of 

 wings suffused dark olivaceous green ; black markings larger ; on forewing 

 spots of subterminal series very large, coalescent or nearly so with one 

 another, dentate spots on veins on inner terminal line ; upper two postdiscal 

 spots also very large, coalescent, the upper of the two joining on above and 

 below to postdiscal spot in interspace 6, thus enclosing a prominent lunule 

 of ground-colour. Underside paler. 



The transformations of Aryynnis castetsi have not been observed as far as 

 is known but they are not likely to differ much from those of A. hyperbius 



