310 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



though the description of caterpillar and chrysalis of this latter is meagre 

 enough as given above. 



Habits. Nothing is to be found as to the habits of either 



species in any books and the writer has never come across the 

 insect. It is not likely to differ much from the stronger-flying 

 Argynnis at home. They are fast-flying, strong, active insects, 

 fond of flowers and sunshine, keeping much to the neighbourhood 

 of the ground though they occasionally fly high and far. The 

 flight is that of Atella phalantha. The eggs are sure to be laid on 

 or near a leaf of some species of Viola of which a few exist even in 

 Southern India, though most are of temperate zones. The larva 

 would probably eat the leaves of the garden violets or pansies 

 readily. The genus Argynnis contains our home Fritillaries and is 

 Neararctic as well as Paleearctic and Indo-Malayan in distribution. 

 A. hyperbius is found from the Himalayas (Panjab to Sikkim) to 

 Assam ; Agra ; Manbhum in Bengal ; Khasi Hills ; Upper Burma 

 to China and Formosa; Sumatra and Java. A variety A. tapro- 

 bana, Moore, slightly darker, is found in Ceylon. A. castetsi is 

 confined to Southern India in the Nilgiris and Palni Hills. Some 

 sixteen species are enumerated as occurring in India. The males 

 of many of the Argynnis group of butterflies are much smaller 

 than the females and this is the case very often with A. hyperbius. 

 68. Cirrhochroa mithila, Moore.— Male upperdde is rich fulvous tawny, 

 the basal area limited by the transverse, discal, black line, darker on both 

 fore and hindwings than the discal and terminal portions of the wings. 

 Forewing with a transverse, dusky, obscure, short, narrow band along 

 discocellulars ; a transverse dusky black, slightly sinuous, discal line termi- 

 nating in an oblique, short, black streak in interspace 7 ; a transverse series 

 of very obscure diffuse dark spots ; apex broadly, termen narrowly black ; 

 from the former is emitted downwards a subterminal, rather heavily marked, 

 zigzag, black line, complete from apex to vein 1, the black at apex some- 

 what diffuse. Hindwing with a transverse dark, discal, sinuous line and 

 series of black spots in continuation of those on forewing, the spots much 

 more clearly defined ; a postdiscal, transverse series of slender, lunular, 

 dark markings followed by an inner and an outer dark, subterminal line, 

 the inner lunular, the outer straight. The discal transverse line and 

 postdiscal series of lunules each bordered by a prominent, white, subcostal 

 spot. Underside rather dark, uniform ochraceous, often suffused with purple 

 to a more or less degree. Both wings with a common, pinkish white, 

 conspicuous transverse, discal fascia, its inner margin highly sinuous, its 



