588 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXIII. 



I have been unable to discover many descriptions of the larvse of A. 

 hyperbiuti from India but it appears that the forms from the more northern re- 

 gions of the country always possess the red dorsal stripe. The imagines of 

 hyperbius from the Nilgiris are to some extent intermediate between the type 

 and castetsi but the larvse is not apparently described. Until this has been 

 done it is perhaps unwise to venture any remarks on the possibility of 

 A. castetsi being a good species. Taking into account however the marked 

 features of both imago and larvse it would appear, that a A. castetsi has a 

 better right to be considered a fine species than many other geographical 

 races, and on the whole it seems that the burden of proof should rest with 

 those who would consider it only a form of hyperbius. It is, however, very 

 desirable that the larva3 of the Nilgiri form should be described since the 

 Indian races of this Argynnid seem to be on the border line between 

 distinct species and mere local forms, and as such likely to assist in the 

 solution of several perplexing problems. 



An attempt was made in Ceylon to interbreed the two forms but it was 

 unsuccessful mainly I believe owing to the experiment being carried out in 

 too hot a climate. This experiment is well worth repeating if the oppor- 

 tunity occurs, as the results from a fertile pairing would be of the greatest 

 interest. In this connection it may be mentioned that the ova and larvse 

 of A. hyperbius are not hard to find on the food-plant Viola patrinis D. C. 

 if the small and sickly-looking plants are searched. In Ceylon healthy and 

 vigorous plants were seldom productive, an observation also made by 

 Mr. Evershed in India. 



T. C F. FRYER, m.a., f.e.s. 

 London, October 1914. 



No. XXII.— THE BEDA WEED (NILE LILY) HICHHORNIA 

 SPECIOSA, SoLMS. 



Mr. R. Grant Brown, I.C.S., the Deputy Commissioner, Bassein, Burma, 

 wrote in September 1913, asking if we could give him any information of 

 the best method of suppressing the "Nile Lily" which, he said, was the 

 name of a plant which had appeared in the delta in the last few years and 

 was blocking up the waterways, and enclosed copies of correspondence on 

 the subject. 



Mr. M. Laurie, M.V.O., I.C.S., Commissioner, Irrawaddy Division, 

 enquired in July 1913 what happened to the Beda weed during the months 

 of heavy rainfall and to report on the state of affairs on the 1st September 

 1913. 



In reply, the Deputy Commissioner, Bassein, said that from reports 

 received from Sub-Divisional and Township Officers of the Kyonpaw Sub- 

 Division it appeared that the navigable channels were all free of the weed 

 on the 1st of September, though a good deal of it remained in backwaters 

 and along the edges of streams, where it was entangled in bushes. The 

 Sub-Divisional Officer, Bassein, has not yet reported, though a reminder 

 was sent to him on the 8th of August and others since. 



Beyond setting free the weeds which have become entangled in bushes 

 and allowing them to be carried away by the current, I do not at present 

 know of any aneasures which are likely to be useful in preventing a recur- 

 rence of the nuisance next year. In this district no unpaid labour has 

 been exacted from the villagers and no attempts have been made to 

 construct booms, though I should have been inclined to experiment with 

 these had it not been for the fact that the experiment has, I understand, 

 been tried in other districts. It seems probable that the conditions in 



