7 o J. N. ELIOT 



d. it is small, fore wing length 27 mm. compared to an average of 32 mm. in 

 females of soma from the N. W. Himalayas (smallest example seen 29-5 mm.). 



It is unfortunate that the characters of the fore wing cilia (chequering in spaces 

 6 and 7) and of the antennal club (colour of tip of nudum) cannot be used. 



Neptis soma Moore (yerburii Auctt.) 

 N. soma ominicola Fruhstorfer 



Neptis soma Moore ; Leech, 1892 : 204, pi. 19, fig. 7. 



Neptis yerburyi ominicola Fruhstorfer, 1908a : 411. o* West China, Omi-Shan. Type Paris. 

 Neptis yerburyi tibetana Stichel {nee Moore) (syn. soma Leech {nee Moore)), 1909 : 177, pi. 54a. 

 Neptis yerburyi ominicola Fruhstorfer ; Fruhstorfer, 1913 : 608. 



West China (Szechwan). None in BMNH from the Upper Mekong Valley, 

 like N. yerburii capnodes presumably because the height is too great. In the 

 Himalayas it seems to be commonest at about 4000 ft. 



N. soma shirozui ssp. n. 



Neptis yerburyi Shirozu {nee Butler), i960: 214, pi. 46, figs. 411-413 o*?. text-figs. 239, 242 $ 

 genitalia. Formosa. 



o* on the upper surface the white markings have only a faint creamy tinge. On the under 

 surface it differs from all other subspecies in the ground colour which has a more reddish ochreous 

 tone and in having the hind wing discal and postdiscal bands margined by obscure blackish lines. 

 The hind wing marginal fascia is comparatively inconspicuous and more or less obscured by 

 reddish ochreous scales in spaces 3 and 4, whereas in the other subspecies, except palnica, it is 

 whitish throughout and almost as prominent as the submarginal fascia ; in addition the post- 

 discal band, which is inwardly lunulate, and the submarginal fascia are a little further from the 

 termen. 



Holotype <§. Formosa ; 1955 (ex Shirozu coll.). 



Described from 3 <§ presented by Professor Dr. Takashi Shirozu, for whom the 

 subspecies is named in recognition of his distinguished contribution to entomology. 

 At first sight the subspecies has as much in common with N. mahendra Moore as 

 with N. soma, and for a time I thought it must be a mahendra subspecies. However 

 N. reducta Fruhstorfer, with clear white markings, has a rather better claim to be 

 the Formosan derivative of mahendra stock. 



N. soma butleri nom. n. pro N. yerburii yerburii Auctt. 



Neptis yerburii Butler {nee Butler, 1886), 1888 : 143. $ Dhum Tower, Abbotabad. 



Neptis yerburyi Moore {nee Butler, 1886), 1899 : 236, pi. 280, figs, i-ig 6*? wet and dry season 



forms. 

 Neptis yerburyi yerburyi Stichel {nee Butler, 1886), 1909 : 176, pi. 53c 

 Neptis yerburyi yerburyi Fruhstorfer {nee Butler, 1886), 1913 : 608. 

 Neptis yerburyi yerburyi Evans {nee Butler, 1886), 1932 : 167. 



The subspecies is adequately described in the above, and several other works. 



