COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA. 751 



continuation, thence to where wings commence to expand and along the 

 expansion-edge, continued along sides of abdomen as far as cremaster ; 

 the head-front is flat, segment 2 slightly convex, the abdomen dorsally 

 above the carinte also flattened on segments 4-8. The spiracles are longly 

 oval in shape and light in colour and are of ordinary size. The colour of 

 the pupa is bright green, with a dorsolateral line on segments 4 to 8 where 

 it merges into the lateral ledge-line of abdomen, yellow ; the base of 

 thoracic process or point and this point, the head-ridge and those from it to 

 shoulders with those thence to wing-expansion edges, brown ; carinsB of 

 segments 1, 2, 3 broadly flanked with brown, narrowing on front margin 

 of segment 2 ; segment 2 with a brown linear mark laterally ; ventral 

 central line yellow. L : 30mm.; B: at broadest part 10mm.; thoracic 

 point 1mm. long. 



Habits. — The egg is laid single on the upperside of a fresh leaf 

 or shoot and is of the ordinary spherical shape, greenish white in 

 colour when first deposited, hardly shiny. The little larva takes 

 to the midrib at once, but nearly always wanders to feed on the 

 edges of other leaves than that upon which it has chosen to maker 

 its bed of silk and take up its abode. As it grows it occasionally 

 changes its seat, making a new one, and, finally, when full grown, 

 like most other Papilio larvae, it will occasionally quit the leaf 

 and take to stems and twigs. In the last stage it keeps to shady, 

 well hiden leaves and never lies out in the sun. The larva is 

 sluggish and walks with a halting motion. It pupates against a 

 twig or stem of a plant, under a leaf also, as occasion serves and 

 the body string of the chrysalis is very long. The caterpillar is 

 like that of P. nomius, the pupa is of the same type also but 

 differs from that of that insect in some essential points, and is 

 never formed anj^where but in positions above specified ; it is 

 always green in colour. The butterfly is a quick flier, not powerful 

 but very graceful, stronger than P. nomms, and rises much higher 

 towards the tops of the trees round which it maj' be seen circling 

 on sunshiny days in the evergreen jungles of Kanara on the 

 Western Ghats. It is most plentiful there in the monsoon months 

 and immediately before and after, while the young shoots of the 

 foodplant are still being put forth. It is a local species, keeping 

 to the moister evergreen forests from sea level upwards and is 

 nowhere excessively common. It comes to flowers like P. nomius 

 and, in company with that species, members of the genera A]^)pias,- 



