40 L. de Niceville — List of the Butterflies of Calcutta. [No. 1, 



that tlie butterflies can easily hide their conspiciioiis ocelli, wliile in the 

 cold and dry seasons the ocelli, easily seen through the scantily-clothed 

 jungle, would render the butterflies an easy prey to their inveterate 

 enemies the birds, lizards, and insectivorous insects ; so that the ocellation 

 being a cause of danger would have a worse chance of survival, and 

 consequently would be gradually wiped out by a process of a survival of 

 the fittest, the fittest in this case being the least gaudily-marked indi- 

 viduals. Were this the case, however, the non-marked forms would 

 certainly survive during the rains, for their homeliness of coloration, 

 though no longer absolutely essential, would still give them an ad- 

 vantage over their ocellated brethren, unless indeed the ocelli are 

 preserved by sexual selection at this time when the struggle for bare 

 existence is not so keen as at other seasons. 



Suborder RHOPALOCERA. 



Family Nymphalid^. 

 Subfamily DANAiNiE. 



* 1. Danais (Parantica) aglea, Cramer. 



I have never met with this species, Mr. Rothney records it as 

 * rare.' 



2. Danais (Tirumala) limniace, Cramer. 

 Very common everywhere at all seasons. 



3. Danais (Limnas) chrysippus, Linn^us. 



The commonest butterfly met with here as elsewhere. 



4. Danais (Limnas) alcippoides, Moore. 



A single individual has been taken in a garden at Ballygunj in 

 March. Since the first volume of ' The Butterflies of India ' appeared, 

 I have received single specimens of this erratic species from Fyzabad 

 in Oudh, from Bholahat in the Malda district, and from Khurda, Orissa. 

 I have no doubt in my own mind that D. alcippoides is a casual variety, 

 aberration, or " sport " of D. clirysip'puSj which would almost certainly 

 be proved to be the case by breeding from a batch of eggs laid by a 

 female D. alcippoides, when I should expect to find all, or nearly all, the 

 resultant butterflies of the true chrysippus form. 



5. Danais (Salatura) genutia, Cramer. 

 Almost as common as the preceding. 



6. Danais (Salatura) hegesippus, Cramer. 



Decidedly a rare species, I have only seen seven specimens in all, 

 five taken by myself in the two last months of three successive years, 

 one taken by Mr. W. Doherty also in the cold weather, and one in March 



