Publ. 14. IV. 1914. 
LIBYTHEA. By H. Frtthstorfer. 
709 
L. lepita forms the transition from L. celtis to L. myrrha. I formerly believed to be right in considering 
lepita as a geographical form of celtis, but although it is certain that lepita appears everywhere where celtis 
disappears, I think to be allowed to treat lepita nevertheless as a species as long as the case has not been more 
cleared up by genital examinations. In all the lepita, also in celtoides, being otherwise so closely allied 
to celtis, we miss the white streak consisting of modified scales, at the cell end of the under surface of the 
hindwing, and the position of the yellow band on the upper surface of the hindwing is less steep in lepita than 
in celtis. Still, these differences may be insignificant and we must leave it to the future to clear this 
up definitely, although we know the early stages from good figures which as yet are entirely lacking for the 
genus. • — celtoides Fruhst. (139 e) differs from celtis only by somewhat longer whitish spots at the costal margin celtoides. 
and a white (instead of yellow) preapical spot of the forewing. There exist specimens resembling celtis still 
more than the figured specimen with a red-yellow costal spot before the red-brown discal area of the hindwing. 
celtoides also surely belongs to a winter- or extreme dry period-form, already on account of the mono¬ 
tonously reddish sand-coloured under surface of the hindwings and its small size. The specimens are without 
an exact habitat, maybe from Hondo or North Japan, in the Coll. Frithstorfer. — matsumurae Fruhst. matsumu- 
(139 e) seems to represent the common race of Japan Proper. According to Pryer, matsumurae has only one rae 
generation and is probably the day-butterflv living the longest. The imago creeps out of the pupa in July and 
lives until May next. Shortly after having flown out, it returns to its hibernal hiding-place, from winch it is 
enticed forth again by the first warm days in the following March. It is then seen laying its eggs on still closed 
buds of the Celtis bushes. — chinensis Fruhst. is a geographical race of large habitus with an isolated red chinensis. 
median spot of the forewing and a darker red-brown transverse band of the hindwing. In the mountains of 
Szetchuan, also near Changyang in Central China, from June to July. In my collection from Kweitchou, to 
the south of the Yangtse River. According to Leech there occur specimens resembling L. myrrha in West 
China, they are presumably off-shoots of myrrha-sanguinalis as we know them from Sikkim. — formosana formosana. 
Fruhst. represents the melanotic extreme of the total species, with an almost obsolete red-jellow transverse 
band of the hindwing. Formosa, in mountainous districts, apparently rare. -— tamela form. nov. is based upon tamela. 
an extreme dry period-form; habitus more than a third smaller than that of the mountainous form of the summer- 
season. Cellular stripe not coherent, but dissolved into two isolated spots. The transcellular spots are strikingly 
long, likewise separated, the median band of the hindwing divided into four spots by black veins, being of a 
lighter yellow colour than the macular band of the rainy period-form. — sophene subsp. nov. is of a very small sophene. 
habitus with very broad, celtis- like, red-yellow bands of the upper surface. From the sources of the Mekong, 
Tibet. Type in the Paris Museum. — lepita Moore (139 e) (Vol. I, p. 251, t. 71 f) is a typical Himalaya- lepita. 
butterfly, being distributed from the north west Province of Mardan and Thandiani to Upper Burma and inha¬ 
biting not too high spurs of the chief mountain-range. In Sikkim it already grows rare; $ rather variable, 
in Cashmir, for instance, there occur specimens approximating celtoides from Japan and bearing a supplemen¬ 
tary spot above the red-yellow transverse band of the hindwing, like the European celtis of which, however, 
the transcellular spot of the forewing may be isolated; and there are also $$ with a lighter yellow, very broad 
transverse band of the hindwing. —- lepitoides Moore replaces lepita in Southern India and in Ceylon where lepitoides. 
lepitoides occurs near Kandy, while it occurs as a great rarity in the Nilgiri Mountains up to elevations of about 
1200 m. Flying time from February to October. exhibit smaller white subapical spots of the forewings 
than their northern allies. 
L. myrrha is the most widely distributed Indo-Malayan species being reported from West China, 
Yunnan and from Burma to the west as far as Cashmir, extending to the south as far as Ceylon and to the east 
over Macromalayana as far as Sumbawa. In Ceylon it occurs in two forms: an alpine race and a broad- 
banded one of the plains. The marking of the upper surface of myrrha is still plainer than that of L. celtis and 
lepitoides. The costal spots of the forewings are white only in the olpine form of Ceylon, otherwise all the bands 
and spots are covered with a monotonous, dull colouring varying according to the locality from dull buff to 
reddish-yellow and being of course the darkest in the islands. The butterflies are fond of being near the water 
and of resting in whole groups on wet places on the road or on the river-banks, also on stones and rocks covered 
with algae, as well as on dry twigs where they are well protected by the dark colouring of the under surface. — 
Larva on Celtis tetranta, resembling at first sight a larva of Catopsilia. It is of a dark green colour with a 
brownish tinge. Pupa with a flat square head. The eggs are deposited on young shoots and leaves of Celtis. 
The larva remains on the under surface of the leaves, which it eats up entirely with exception of the ribs. 
They like to spin and also drop down on a silk thread when disturbed. Pupa always on the under surface of 
the leaves. — sanguinalis Fruhst. (139 e) is reported from Mupin in West China and from Tenasserim as lax sanguinalis. 
as Cashmir. Specimens from Kulu, Sikkim, Assam, Burma and Siam of my collection do not differ greatly 
from each other and all exhibit the buff, very broad median band of the hindwing being characteristic of sangui- 
nalis, just like from the Laos States which Pavie handed over to the Paris Museum. In Sikkim the first 
generation appears in June, but according to Elwes the form occurs from April to October. I took a great 
number of specimens about 300 m above the sea-level in January and February in Siam, and the dry winter- 
months are reported also from Birma to be the flying time. While sanguinalis does not go beyond moderately 
high elevations in Sikkim. Colonel Yerbury observed a specimen in February at an elevation of almost 3000 m 
IX 97 
