LYC^NOPSIN^. 243 



CASTALIUS AIRAVATI. 

 Plate 631, figs. 1, <J, la, ? , lb, <?, Ic, $ , 



Castalius airavati, Doherty, Journ. As. Soc. Bengal, 1886, p. 261. de Niceville, Butt, of India, iii. 

 p. 199, Frontispiece, fig. 133, $ (1890). Bingham, Fauna of Brit. India, Butt. ii. p. 427 

 (wood-cut) (1907). 



Imago. — Male. Allied to C. ethion, Doubleday and Hewitson. Upperside, both 

 wings light shining blue, the outer borders broadly, and the costa of the wing narrowly 

 black ; a white band crosses both wings which has its upper part wide in the forewing, 

 centering between the third medial and lower discoidal nervules, thence to the hind 

 margin it is slender and almost obsolescent ; on the hindwing it is narrow and angular. 

 Underside, both wings with the ground ochreous-white (it is white in C. ethion), pure 

 white on the lower part of the forewing. It differs from C. ethion below in the 

 increased size of all the black markings. The transverse discal band across the 

 hindwing, though irregular, is continuous, its two parts very close together, the upper 

 one is widely united near the costa with the outer of the two oblique basal stripes ; the 

 latter are united in both wings, enclosing a narrow white band. The two lines of 

 sub-marginal spots are less equal and regular than in C. ethion, the inner one being 

 very large and forming an almost continuous and very heavy lunular line ; the anal 

 and sub-anal black spots are edged. with silvery blue. Tail shorter than in C. inanluena, 

 Felder (Doherty). 



Female. Upperside entirely lacking the blue gloss of the male ; the discal white 

 band rather narrower. Forewing with a somewhat rectangular, detached black spot, on 

 the outer side of the white medial band. Hindwing with the white band prominently 

 narrowed anteriorly by the encroachment on it of the inner portion of the black area 

 on the termen. Underside ground colour and markings similar to that of its own 

 male. Antennae, head and body as in C. ethion (Bingham). 



Expanse of wings, $ % 1^-q inches. 



Habitat. — Nicobar Islands. 



We have not seen this species ; the types are in the Indian Museum, Calcutta ; 

 the figures are copied from de Nice'ville's and Bingham's figures. 



CASTALIUS ROXUS. 

 Plate 631, figs. 2, (J, 2a, ? , 2b, $ . 



Polyommatus roxus, Godart, Enc. Meth. ix. p. 659 (1823). 



Lycsena roxus, Horsfield, Cat. Lep. E.I.C. p. 70, pi. 2, fig. 4, 4a, ? , 4b to 4f (structure of imago) 



(1828). 

 Cupido roxus, Druce, Proc. Zool. Soc. 1873, p. 348. 



2 I 2 



