396 sphingid^:. 



In the dark- coloured form (PL X, fig. 13) head pale brown 

 with a darker stripe separating face from cheek ; body-colour 

 dark purple with markings as in the green form. Length 

 40 mm. ; breadth 7 mm. ; horn 6 mm. 



Pupa. — Macroglossine in shape, abdomen less flattened 

 dorsally ; tongue-sheath fairly prominent ; antenna slightly 

 longer than fore leg ; no coxal piece. Surface moderately 

 shining ; head and wing-case smooth ; thorax minutely 

 shagreened ; abdomen more coarsely shagreened and pitted 

 laterally towards hind margins of segments ; front bevel 

 of segment 9 with a wide deep channel at its front margin, 

 and the rest of bevel covered with narrow, short ridges. 

 Spiracle of 2 indicated by a narrow oval depression almost 

 covered by a small transverse oblong lobe projecting from the 

 front margin of 3 ; other spiracles oval, flush, edges of central 

 slit raised. Cremaster elongate -triangular, ending in a simple 

 point, flattened dorsally and ventrally, surface shining, 

 dorsum finely rugose, venter finely longitudinally striate, 

 tip smooth. Colour ochreous ; frons black ; tongue-sheath 

 suffused with brown ; tongue black ; a narrow brown dorsal 

 stripe on thorax ; tibiae of both legs brown ; wing-case 

 suffused with brown ; inner margin of wing black ; hind 

 margins of segments 5 to 7 narrowly black ; hind bevels 

 of 8 to 10 broadly brown ; spiracles black lying on small 

 black patches ; cremaster black. Length 29 mm. ; breadth 

 7 mm. ; cremaster 1*5 mm. 



Habits. — Food-plants : Galium Linn, and Rubia cordifolia 

 Linn., family Rubiaceae. Habits macroglossine. 



144 b. Rhopalopsyehe nycteris bifasciata Butl. 



Rhopalopsyche bifasciata, Butler, 1875, p. 239, pi. xxxvi, fig. 4 

 (S. India) ; Hampson, 1891, p. 1 (Nilgiris, 6,000-7,000 ft.) ; 

 id., 1892, p. 112 ; Roths. & Jord., 1903, p. 670. 



Rhopalopsyche nycteris bifasciata, Seitz, 1929, p. 562, t. 65/. 



Imago. — <£$. Head, thorax and abdomen greyish-brown ; 

 abdomen with deep chrome side-patches on the first three 

 segments ; penultimate segment fringed with white ; four 

 lateral tufts, increasing in size posteriorly, the first two white, 

 the others black tipped with white ; anal tufts black. Fore 

 wing greyish-brown ; some indistinct basal lines ; a dark 

 antemedian band (darker than in n. nycteris) recurved towards 

 base at inner margin ; three postmedian curved lines, the first 

 two filled in with dark colour to form a band (not so in n. nycteris) ; 

 a square brown spot on costa before apex, with a black spot 

 below it from which a waved oblique line runs to apex. 

 Hind wing blackish -brown, with a broad, median, deep chrome 

 band extending nearly to base. Expanse : $ 38-40 mm., 

 ? 38-44 mm. 



