746 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIII. 
tion with some success. Discarded names are called synonyms and many 
species have collected quite a number of them. 
17. In ordei' to further the study of the Indian butterflies and to popularise 
it, what appears to be needed is a cheap publication, whereby identification may 
be effected with reasonable facility. Full descriptions bore the ordinary amateur, 
\\4»ile the really earnest student can refer to the text books ; good kej’s giving 
the main differences are more acceptable to the majority. Colom'cd plates are 
very expensive, but well executed photographs carry one a long way and have 
the merit of being accurate, which is more than can be said alwaj's of hand 
coloured plates. I propose to follow up the introduction to butterfl}^ catching 
in India contained in my previous article and the present one by a series of keys 
accompanied by about thirty plates, containing sufficient illustrations to enable 
a beginner to spot the genus to which a particular insect belongs, after which the 
key will enable him to discover the species. The i)hotogi’aphs are tx!Uig taken 
by Mr. Albert Jealdns of Simla, who being a Naturalist as well as a photo 
grapher, is taking the very greatest pains in carrjdng out the work. An at- 
tempt has been made to give trivial names to the species, not the races, since 
many a beginner will not face the latin names ; I have made an attempt to use 
the names prevailing at schools in the Hills ; JMr. 0. C. Ollcnbach has assisted 
me in selecting the names. The work, which has been carried out in my leisure 
moments, wdll not be quite up to the standard it might have reached had I had 
more time to devote to it and the opportunity of referring to a museum 
collection or library. It will, I hope, serve a u.seful purpose and later on it may 
be possible to produce an improved edition in book form, embodying any 
suggestions that members may care to make. 
18. In order to shorten the work, full use has been made of abbreviations. 
Where I cannot personally vouch for a locality, I have added the authority 
in brackets. The families are lettered A, B, etc. ; genera are numbered serially 
within the family and species serially within the genus ; a particular butterfly 
can then be referred to as say B14-3. It will be seen that at the beginning of 
each paragraph in the keys there is a number followed by a number in brackets 
(in the families key letters in place of numbers), thus la (6a), if the de.scription 
under 1 a corresponds, pass on to 1 b, if it fails go on to the number in brackets 
6a. The reason for using the order la, lb — 1 is to preserve the numbering of the 
species or genus as the case may be, w'hich always follows a number without 
the small letter suffix. Geographical races are distmguished by Greek letters. 
No synonyms will be given. I follow the order which appears to me best and 
most up-to-date. Small print notes will be found at the end of each section ex- 
plaining any departures from the hitherto accepted practice, notes on any new 
genera, species or races, etc. ; these notes are intended for the expert and the 
amateur need not bother to read them ; they will be made as short as possible. 
Do not expect perfection ; owing to the variation that occurs, the construction 
of foolproof keys is impossible ; remember too that the aim of the work is 
cheapness and that it has been executed in the spare time of an overworked 
official. 
Keys to Indian Butterflies. 
Families. 
Aa (I). F one or more veins cm.anate from v7. Antennae approximate 
at the base. Hind tibiae with only one pair of spurs. 
Ab (H). H with precostal vein (except a few Pierid se). 
Ac (Ca). Forelegs fully developed in both sexes. 
A (B). H via absent (present in all other families). 
Papilionidee. The Swallowtails. 
B (A). H via present. 
Pieridee. The Whites. 
