606 Capt. E. Y. Watson — Butterflies from My inny an. [No. 3, 



Notes on some Butterflies from Myingyan, Central Burma. — By Capt. E. Y. 

 Watson, Indian Staff Corps, F. Z. S. 



[ Received June 15th;— Read July 7th, 1897. ] 



Myingyan, as well as the rest of Central Burma, npsets one's 

 preconceived ideas of Burma, which is generally looked upon as a land 

 of heavy jungle and marsh and as reeking of fever. This last attribute 

 may be considered as more or less mythical as regards the whole of 

 Burma, in which there is no more fever than in Central or North- 

 Eastern India, while where it exists it is almost entirely confined to 

 the " terai" country at the foot of the hill ranges. 



In Myingyan, however, not only is the fever a, negligible quantity 

 but the forest is non-existent, and the marsh or paddy-land is restricted 

 to very limited areas flooded by the river ; in fact the general appear- 

 ance of the country is more like that of the Deccan than of the tradi- 

 tional Burma, and there are many points of resemblance between 

 Myingyan and a place such as Ahmednagar. What jungle there is 

 consists of low thorny scrub ; while the chief crops cultivated are 

 jowari, cotton, and oil-seed (gingelly), the soil being what is known as 

 " black cotton " or a very fair imitation of it. Myingyan may be taken 

 as fairly typical of what may be conveniently termed " Central Burma," 

 which may he said to extend from Mimbu northwards for some 150 

 miles ; still further north the rainfall and general characteristics of the 

 country again change and are very similar to those of Lower Burma 

 and Tenasserim. 



In Central Burma butterflies are comparatively scarce, and pro- 

 bably not more than 100 species would be found within ten miles of 

 Myingyan as contrasted with some 300 odd which occur round Rangoon, 

 The following notes are founded on a collection made by me from October 

 to March, *. e., practically the dry-season, though as the total rainfall is 

 something under 30 inches it is doubtful whether the district would 

 have proved much more prolific during the rains. Several species of 

 interest were met with, one of which has recently been described as 

 new^from Myingyan specimens. 



No Euplceas were observed, though probably E. godartii, Lucas, 

 and E. linnsei, Moore, occur at the beginning of the rains ; Danais 

 chrysippus, Linnaeus, and D. plexippus, Linnaeus, [ = D. genutia, Cramer], 

 occurred commonly, and D. limniace, Cramer, more rarely. 



A single Mycalesis was observed, probably a Oalysisme, but the 

 species is doubtful, as the insect was not caught; Melanitis ismene, 

 Cramer, was not seen but doubtless occurs, Lethe europa, Fabiicius, 



