1891.] ON BUTTERFLIES FROM THE NAGA HILLS, ETC. 249 



1. On Butterflies collected by Mr. W. Doherty in the Naga 

 and Karen Hills and in Perak. — Part I. By H. J. 

 Elwes, 



[Received April 1, 1891.] 

 (Plate XXVII.) 



Ill the following notes I have given a list of the rarer and more 

 interesting Butterflies collected in the years 1889 and 1890 by 

 Mr. Doherty ; but I have not thought it necessary to mention the 

 commoner ones which have already been recorded from the neigh- 

 bouring regions, as it is obvious that no list can be anything like 

 complete unless based on collections made during a much longer 

 time than Mr. Doherty has been able to devote to one locality. 



The principal places he visited were as follows : — During March 

 and April 1889 he was at Margharita, which is near the coal-mines 

 S.E. of Sadya in Upper Assam, and this locality, owing to the very 

 cold, rainy, and unfavourable weather, was very unproductive. Some 

 of the more interesting species occurring here have been already 

 described by him in the ' Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal,' 

 1889, p. 125. It appears that there is here among the insects, as 

 amongst the birds, a general prevalence of the common Indo-Malay 

 species which are found all along the sub-Himalayan forest and 

 throughout the low country of Assam and N.E. Bengal, with a 

 slight admixture of forms peculiar to Upper Assam, and having 

 more relationship to species found in China and East Tibet than to 

 Indian species. 



Writing from Margharita, Upper Assam, on May 6th, 1889, 

 Mr. Doherty says : — "I had to go to Darjiling for my Lepchas and 

 got two fairly good men ; I have also two other men, one of whom is 

 quite as good as the Lepchas, and hope by high wages and continual 

 presents to keep them permanently in my service. I have had no 

 success as yet. I reached here April 23rd. As this is probably the 

 best collecting-ground in the Assam valley, and as both my expeditions 

 have failed, and I will never make a third, I will give you some notion 

 of the seasons, so that you may secure better success to anyone who 

 comes later. Last year the rains continued down to the cold weather, 

 November 1st, after which Butterflies disappeared entirely, though 

 Moths flew till December 1st. During October very few species 

 were flying, though some were fairly abundant, including four 

 species of red Gharaxes, and even Rhinopalpa fulva. There were 

 scarcely any Lycsenidse or Hesperidas. The forest-paths were all 

 flooded and impassable till the cold weather had well begun. So 

 the autumn is quite hopeless for collecting. This spring I learn to 

 my surprise that a host of Butterflies came out about March 1 .5th, 

 in spite of the cold and violent winds, disappearing during the first 

 week of April, The Chota barsat (little-rains) began in the last 

 days of March. April was exceedingly wet and cold. We were 

 wearing heavy ulsters and double flannels in the steamer from 



