XIV INTRODUCTION. 



collected at my disposal. Messrs. Allan and Craddock, of the 

 Burma Forest Department, have sent me small but very useful 

 collections from Pegu and the Southern Shan States ; and to 

 Mr. E. E. Green and to the Hon. E. Mackwood I owe many 

 specimens from Ceylon. Major E. Stokes-Eoberts, E.E., sent me 

 several collections made in the Anaimalai and JNTilgiri Hills in 

 Southern India. These were particularly valuable to me for 

 comparison with the northern Indian forms. 



I have to thank the Authorities of the British Museum for the 

 privilege of access to the magnificent series of Indian butterflies 

 contained in the National Collection, and I am specially grateful 

 to Sir Gr. Hampson and Mr. E. Heron for the facilities afforded me 

 for their examination. Mr. Heron has aided me in every possible 

 way, and his intimate knowledge of many groups of butterflies has 

 been most kindly and unreservedly placed at my service. 



The National Collection has of late years been greatly increased 

 and enriched by the donations of the Godinan, Leech, Crowley, and 

 Elwes collections ; and it is fortunate that so vrell-known an 

 authority on Lepidoptera as Mr. Elwes should have undertaken 

 the re-arraDgement of the vast material thus brought together. 

 Eor me it was specially fortunate that previous to commencing 

 the writing of this volume the arrangement of several of the 

 groups of the Nymphalidcv should have been completed. I had 

 thus the advantage of Mr. Elwes' large experience to guide me. 



Turning to books, my obligations to the two previous works on 

 Indian Butterflies have to be acknowledged. I am greatly indebted 

 to the information contained in Mr. Moore's great work, the 

 ' Lepidoptera Indica,' as will be seen from the frequent quota- 

 tions from and references to the volumes so far completed. Of 

 the three volumes issued of the ' Butterflies of India,' # the 

 first two are completely out of date and, I believe, out of print. 

 Col. Marshall and Mr. de Niceville were pioneers in the 

 systematic investigation of the Indian Lepidopterous Eauna ; 

 and the impulse given to the study of Indian butterflies by the 

 publication, by the two authors conjointly, of the first volume of 

 the ' Butterflies of India, Burma and Ceylon,' and, by the late 

 Mr. de Niceville alone, of volumes II. and III. cannot be rated too 

 highly. De Niceville's enthusiasm communicated itself to others, 

 and his ever ready and generous help encouraged many who, like 

 myself, feel that his early death has been almost an irreparable 

 loss to Indian Entomology. Had my late friend lived, the com- 

 pilation of the present work would never have been attempted by 

 me ; it would have been in his far abler hands. As it is, it will 

 be good news to many that the Trustees of the Indian Museum 



* Vol. I. by Col. G. F. L. Marshall and L. de JN'iceville ; vols. II and III. by 

 L. de Niceville. 



