420 



PAPILIOXID^. 



between Tonglo and Sundukpho, where it liad probably been driven up by 

 the wind, and both this and another similar female given me by MoUer are 

 intermediate between the ithiela females and those of the typical horsjieldii 

 from the North-west Himalayas. In the Khasia hills I was fortunate enough 

 to find belladonna in its breeding-places, which are the small patches of 

 natural forest left on the higher parts of the hills at from 4000 to 6400 feet 

 elevation. Here it is in some places abundant, and I found the females 

 almost as plentiful as tlie males. In the wood which crowns the summit of 

 the Shillong peak I had several opportunities of observing the habits of the 

 insect, which are quite different from what I saw in Sikkim. They fly on 

 sunny days about the tops of the trees, and make little excursions into the 

 open country round, always returning to the shelter of the wood, and fre- 

 quently descending to settle on the flowers of a species of Euonymus, and of 

 a large species of Scahiosa which grew on its outskirts. The flight is slow, 

 graceful, and soaring, and the butteifiies are not at all shy. Here I found 

 hardly any variation in the insects, all being true ithiela, excepting two 

 specimens, which were slightly tinted with yellow on the abdominal margin. 

 I figure a female of the Khasia form, which has also been named bcrinda by 

 Moore, and a female of the horsjieldii type from Sikkim, which closely 

 resembles the North-western horsjieldii from the Mandra plateau, in Kulu, 

 taken at 8 00 feet by Capt. Graham Young. These are selected from 36 

 males and 18 females in my collection. 



" The facts as to the geographical distribution of tliis species which we 

 know arc asfoHows: — In E. Tibet, and probably S. China, the typical bella- 

 donna of Fabricius is the dominant form. In Sikkim at 6000 to 10,000 feet 

 the same form, somewhat darker. In Nepal and the North-Avestern Hima- 

 layas horsjieldii of Gray is found. In the Khasias, and at low elevations in 

 Sikkim, we have the dark variety, ithiela, varying in colour of the abdominal 

 margin, wliicli is sometimes ycllowisli and sometimes white." (Elwes, I. c.) 



Heir Mitis informs me that liis IJ. belladonna, var. zelinia agrees exactly 

 witli I'latc XXXVH. figs. 3, 4 in the present work. If this is so, then I 

 tliiiik liis insect is typical JJ. belladonna. 



Delias sanaca. (I'late XXXVII. figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, vars.) 



Picnssnauai, Wuitvv, Cat. Lc]). K. I. C. i. p. 7\) (IH57) ; I'roc. Zool. Soc. Loud. IS,');", 

 |>. 1 ()■'{, xliv. fig. {), iicc 1. 



