1906.] OK THE LEPIDOPTERA OF THE TIBET COMMISSION. 479 



3. On the Lepidoptera collected by tlie Officers on the 

 recent Tibet Frontier Oonnnissiou. By H. J. Elwes, 

 F.R.S., F.Z.S., Sir George Hampson, Bt., F.Z.S., and 

 J. Hartley Durrant, F.E.S. 



[Received May 1, 1906.] 

 (Plate XXXYI.*) ; 



BUTTERFLIES. 

 By H. J. Elwes, F.R.S. 



A large collection of Butterflies was sent to the British Museum 

 in 1905 made by various officers who took part in the Tibet 

 Frontier Commission in 1903 and afterwards accompanied the 

 Expedition to Lhasa. The localities in which they were taken 

 have been so fully described by Oapt. H. J. Yfalton, who was 

 Medical Officer and Botanist to the Commission, in ' The Ibis' for 

 January 1906, that I need not say much about the country ; but 

 remembering that the expedition was, during a large part of the 

 time, in a state of actual warfare and that there Avas no ento- 

 mologist with the pai"ty, it will be understood that this collection 

 must be regarded as only representing a part of the species which 

 exist there. 



The localities are as follows : — Tungu, a valley near the head of 

 the Lachen River in Native Sikhim close to the Tibetan frontier, 

 elevation 15,000-1 6,000 feet ; Lhanak, a valley to the west of this 

 at an equal or greater elevation ; Khamba Jong, a Tibetan fort 

 fifteen miles beyond the Kongra-lama Pass, at a,n elevation of 

 15,000-16,000 feet, where the Commission stayed during the 

 svimmer of 1903 ; on the march from Phari to Gyantze in June 

 and July 1904 ; Gyantze, where the Mission was besieged for 

 some time and the greater part of the insects were collected ; and 

 at and near Lhasa, where a few specimens Avere afterwards taken in 

 August. With a few exceptions most of the species enumerated 

 are known to occur in Ladak. 



My paper on Butterflies from Sikhim, P. Z.S. 1882, p. 398, 

 should be referred to; also Col. Fa wcett's paper, op.cit. 1904, ii. 

 p. 134. 



1. Papilio machaon var. sikkimensis Moore, J. A. S, B. 1884, 

 p. 47. 



Seems to be common in Alpine Sikhim and at Khamba Jong ; 

 some specimens have shorter tails than usual, approaching the 

 variety ladakensis Moore. 



2. Parnassius epaphus var. sikkimensis Elwes, P. Z. S. 1882, 

 p. 399, pi. XXV. f. 4 ; vectixis jacqtcemonti var,, id. o^j. cit. 1886, p. 36. 



Though Staudinger, Oberthiir, and other writers have used the 



* For explanation of tlie Plate, see p. 498. 



Proc. Zool. Soc— 1906, No. XXXTIL 33 



