188 L. de Niceville— Butterflies of the Kanara Di8trict._ [No. 2, 



feisthamelii, Boisduval, and N. restrida, Moore, have been uuited, as 

 these pairs of names are considered by the writer to represent but a 

 single species in each, instance. A considerable number of species of 

 butterflies new to the lists have been added, bringing up the list from 

 233 (which includes the five species mentioned above as now omitted) 

 to 245 species occurring in the Kanara district. The nomenclature 

 has been brought up to date, the reasons for changing the published 

 names being given in all cases. The importance of the Lists of Food- 

 plants here presented need hardly be pointed out. No species of butter- 

 fly can be said to be known otherwise than superficially by a study of 

 its perfect or imago form alone ; much more than this is wanted ; its 

 egg, larva in all stages, and pupa, should be studied, described, and if 

 possible compared with the transformations of the allied species at 

 all stages. In India, and probably in all tropical countries, seasonal 

 dimorphism occurs to a very great and often unexpected extent, and this 

 phenomenon can only be worked out fully by extensive breeding ex- 

 periments at all seasons of the year, but more especially at the changes 

 of the seasons, from dry to wet and from wet to dry. The lists here given 

 will be of use not only to the student and collector of butterflies in the 

 south-western littoral of India, but to students and collectors of butter- 

 flies in most parts of India and to a less extent elsewhere, many of the 

 species enumerated being very widely spread. It will even be of value 

 as regards other species in the same genus or allied genera, as these 

 allied species and genera will frequently be found to feed either on the 

 same or on allied plants elsewhere. For breeding purposes a knowledge 

 of the food-plant of the larva is half the battle, given a knowledge of that 

 fact, success in breeding becomes almost a certainty. It is in many cases, 

 probably in most, only necessary to shut up the female of any given 

 species of butterfly in as natural conditions as possible with its food- 

 plant for it to lay eggs ; the rest requires only some care and attention. 

 The writers of the series of papers on Kanarese butterflies have mainly 

 relied on actually finding the larva3 of trie different species to breed 

 them successfully, while the present writer has been successful chiefly 

 in breeding from eggs laid by captured butterflies. To find the food- 

 plant of any particular butterfly often entails much patient watching 

 of the females when ovipositing. Mr. Bell has discovered the 

 transformations of several species not hitherto described by himself, 

 Messrs. Davidson and Aitken. These new descriptions will be found 

 when dealing with the butterflies of the Kanara district in the 

 second list. 



The larvae of all the butterflies enumerated feed on vegetable food, 

 except that of Spalgis epiits, Westwood, which feeds on Coccidte; these 



