1130 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XX. 



often, indeed, among the tree tops. It is most plentiful in the 

 monsoon months. The females are quite as plentiful as the males 

 at all times. The larva has been bred on Aristolochia indica, a weak 

 climber with not very showy flowers and dry, expanded fruits 

 resembling little baskets, often full of seeds, which grows plenti- 

 fully in the forests and hills, from sea-level up to 2,500' in Bomba}^ 

 and is found nearly throughout India ; also on Bragantia Walichii, 

 a shrub of the underwood in the forests of Western India, south 

 of Goa, with leaves somewhat resembling those of Cinnamon and 

 long thin pod-like fruits. Both these are belonging to the bota- 

 nical family Aristolochiacece ; the leaves of the former are locally 

 supposed to be a certain cure for snake-bite; the roots of the 

 latter are said to be equally efficacious in cases of cholera ; the 

 foliage of both is aromatic and smells rather nasty. The family 

 is most largely represented in tropical America and, there, some 

 of the flowers reach a large size and are very curiously coloured 

 Pcvpilio minos is confined to Western India from Bombay to Tra- 

 vancore. Three other species, similar to this, are found in British 

 India ; one of which, P. darsius, exist, only in Ceylon. The group 

 contains some beautiful forms with green hindwings in the 

 Malayan Sub-region. 



78. Papilio hector. L. (PI. Dl., tigs. 23 S, 23a $ .)— Male upperside 

 black. Fore wing with a broad, white, interrupted band from the sub-costal 

 nervure opposite the origin of veins 10 and 11, extended obliquely to the 

 tornus and a second short preapical similar band ; both bands composed of 

 detached, irregularly indented, broad streaks in the interspaces. Hind 

 wings with a discal, posteriorly strongly curved series of seven crimson 

 spots followed by a sub-terminal series of crimson linules. Cilia black 

 alternated with white. Underside : forewing dull brownish black, hindwing 

 black; markings as on upperside, but the crimson spots and crescentic 

 markings on the hindwings larger. Antennse, thorax and base of abdomen 

 above black ; head and rest of abdomen bright crimson ; beneath : palpi, 

 sides of thorax and abdomen crimson. Female similar, the discal series 

 of spots and sub-terminal linules much duller, pale crimson irrorated with 

 black scales ; in some specimens the anterior spots and lunules almost 

 white barely tinged with crimson ; abdomen above with the black colour 

 extended further towards the apex. Exp. 88-120mm. 



Larva. — Shape more or less cylindrical, squarish in transverse section 

 because of the rows of tubercles which produce the effect ; anal end high. 



