THE FAUNA OF A DESERT TRACT IN SOUTHERN INDIA. 219 



conspicuous character to the presence of red pigment in their integument, often con- 

 trasted with black. Aspongopus fan/is and Lygceus militaris, belonging to different 

 families of the Hemiptera, are red and black; Papilio hector is black, red, and white; 

 Terracolus danae, white, red, and black ; Mylabris balteata, red, orange, and black ; 

 Trombidium grandissimum, wholly red. Perhaps the only other species which can really 

 be called brilliant, namely, Terias hecaboides, is yellow and black. It should be remarked, 

 however, that this predominance of scarlet and allied colours does not occur in all deserts. 

 It is not exemplified among the specimens brought back by the Seistan Mission, nor, so 

 far as we have data, among those from other sandy and barren localities in India. I have 

 not seen it mentioned as a feature of other sandy regions. Yellow and red are, however, 

 according to Camerano, the characteristic colours of the fauna of the Oriental Region 

 as a whole. Perhaps, if this author's contention can be upheld, their marked occurrence 

 in Ramanad is only another proof of the generalized character of the Insect fauna of the 

 neighbourhood. 



1 Zool. Ana., 1884, p. 341. 



