COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA. 1143 



though large, has weak wings and flutters straight ahead. Most of the 

 lesser species fly straight along in the usual way except Leptosia which is 

 peculiar in having a slow sailing, deliberate flight of its own. They rest 

 on the undersides of leaves with the wings closed over their backs ; 

 Hebomoia often rests on the ground with the forewings sunk down between 

 the hinder ones so as to show only the darker parts and is then very 

 difficult to see. They are all fond of the sunlight with the exception of 

 Fareronia and Leptosia which are insects of the jungles while the others 

 afi'ect more open ground. Catopsilia and Prioneris often fly high over the 

 tree tops while most of the others keep close to the ground ; Hebomoia is 

 also often to be seen high up in the air. They all are fond of flowers and 

 Catopsilia, Apinas, Prioneris, Terias come to moist spots in nallas and on 

 roads in immense numbers during the hot weather. 



The egg is cylindrical, narrowed towards the top but very shortly, 

 generally twice as high as broad, with longitudinal ridges some of which 

 join before they reach the top, their ends forming a circle of little teeth 

 or a crown round the micropile, the surface generally finely transverse- 

 lined. The colour is white, generally changing to yellow or orange, 

 sometimes very light with red blotches or rings. They are mostly laid 

 singly on a young shoot, on the edge of a leaf, generally on the upper or 

 lower svirface. Colotis amata however lays them in batches of 20 to 40, 

 sometimes less, on the undersides of leaves and Ana2)hcBis viesentina likewise 

 though, as this insect generally affects Capparis aphylla as the foodplant 

 of the larvoe, they are laid on the twigs, there being, as a rule, no 

 leaves. 



The larvse are always without processes of any sort and are generally 

 some shade of green with transverse depressed fine lines, mostly 7 to each 

 segment, each interval between two lines with a row of black or white 

 tubercles, each with a hair growing out of the top ; some have a heavy 

 fringe of fine, longish hairs along the sides in the subspiracular region but 

 this is not very common. The head is always round, the anal segment 

 sometimes more or less bifid, the general shape of the body being cylindri- 

 cal, very slightly thickest in the middle. Anaphosis mesentina has a colour- 

 ed larva with a broad ochreous dorsal band and brown-purple sides. Most 

 of the caterpillars are spotted indistinctly under the skin and have a 

 dorsal or spiracular white band or line, or both. They are not very active, 

 some of them drop from the leaf when distvirbed ; the great majority rest 

 in the middle of the upperside of a leaf, lying along the midrib on 

 a bed of silk and generally full stretched though some occasionally sit 

 with the front part raised, others with the hinder end in the air. As a 

 rule they eject a sort of green liquid from the mouth when disturbed but 

 do not otherwise possess any visible way of defending themselves. 

 A few turn pink before pupating. 



