730 
CHARAXES. By H. Fruhstorfer. 
dia, Discophora and particularly the Malayan and Indian Eusemia emit a sweet scent, especially the magnifi¬ 
cent Eusemia bisma from Java, which cannot be replaced by any of our most expensive perfumes. Similar 
as the carrion kite among the birds, the pugnacious Charaxes are among the lepidopters. Their dead body 
is easily subject to putrefaction, probably owing to the food containing yeast-plants, so that their bodies must 
be dried with the utmost precaution. On account of their timidness and unruliness, Charaxes are difficult to 
capture, and when taken in the net, they dart about so furiously that their wings are immediately mutilated. 
Very rarely one will succeed in taking a specimen which one saw sitting before one in all its splendour, unda¬ 
maged from the net. Sometimes, however, they suck so fast on to their favourite food that they are blind and 
insensible and can be easily seized with one’s fingers, just like Wallace captured his historical E. kadeni. 
Range from India witli 5, Birma 7 species as far as to South China where but one species occurs. Su¬ 
matra has 5 species, Borneo 4, Palawan 5, and the other Philippines 3. The small Nias is inhabited by three 
species, whereas Micromalayana only by one. Celebes has again 4 species, the Moluccas, except Buru, only 
one. Australia and the Salomons are without any representative of the genus, although Dr. Jordan presumes 
that the New Guinea-species might eventually be yet discovered there. 
C. fabius, the most insignificant species of the genus, occupies parts of India, Ceylon, Macromalayana 
except Java, then again Celebes and the Philippines. The species was recently ascertained by myself in Sou¬ 
thern Annam. fabius chiefly inhabits the plains, though it has been noticed in South India even at altitudes 
of 1000 in, in Birma of 1500 m. Larva on Tamarindus indicus L. and Wagatea spicata Dalz., oblong, bluish- 
green, with four horns on the head being red at their tips. On the back of the larva two black dots and a 
white crescent on the seventh segment. Stigmata dotted in white. Pupa like that of Eriboea athamas, though 
with a more pointed head. Imago flying especially in the cold season, found by Niceville on date-palms where 
it was drinking the dripping sap, also at the sap exuding from injured apple-trees. Larva occasionally also 
noticed on Gardenia and the butterfly near pomegranate-shrubs and on them. The butterfly is extremely sensi¬ 
tive to grographical influences; even in India proper divided into different races which, however, have not 
yet been thoroughly studied owing to the insufficiency of the material accessible. On the continent there are 
two temporal forms distinguishable, which have hitherto not been paid attention to: The generation of the 
dry period is, especially in the $ sex, on the under surface of the hindwings almost entirely ash-grey without 
fabius. a mark of a median band and even without or nearly without any yellow submarginal spots. — fabius F. 
(135 a) depicted according to a stray ’E from South India, is also found in Ceylon slightly varied. Ground¬ 
colour of the median band dark maize-yellow. Under surface grey with a whitish median band and light yellow 
submarginal spots. From Bombay and Calcutta to South India. Met also in the Sikkim-Terai as stray wan- 
solon. derers from May till July. The form of the dry season may be denominated by solon F . or epifabius Lucas 
i. 1., for by the latter name there is a $ in the Paris Museum with an entirely grey under surface. In the 
cerynthus. British Museum there are also specimens of the extremest winter form from Poona. — cerynthus subsp. nov. 
from Ceylon differs from the South Indian specimens by narrower and darker ochre-yellow median areas of 
both the wings. The ochreous submarginal spots of the under surface are stronger. In the north of the island, 
I also found $$ with an under surface analogous to f. epifabius, with pale-yellow indications of a median band 
of the forewing and a greyish-violet hue over the median band of the hindwings. On the latter only the ante- 
terminal yellow spots are yet pregnant, the postdiscal ones, however, very much blurred. I frequently met 
cerynthus in the north of Ceylon at the skirts of thin woods under high trees and especially in places which 
had been defiled by monkeys. The butterflies sat there together in groups of 20 to 30, greedily contending 
sulphureus. about the trickling wet. —- sulphureus R. and J . exhibits more extensive and almost sulphur-yellow spotting 
and besides, a profuse more yellowish hue at the terminal margin of the hindwings than fabius. Very rare; 
$ unknown. Founded upon 3 EC from Tenasserim and the Shan States; but the material of the Tring Museum 
I was able to inspect, has now greatly increased. Among others there is also a dry period form analogous to 
the f. epifabius in the Museum. In the Coll. Fruhstorfer there are three EC °f the rainy period from Assam. — 
cunctator. cunctator subsp. nov. was found by myself in South Annam during the dry period. The EC from there differ 
from all the vicarious types by their small size as well as by the lightest yellow median band of the upper sur¬ 
face of both the wings, which, however, does not reach in width the most extensively banded EC from 
echo. India Proper. Flying time January, type in the Tring Museum. — echo Btlr., a bodily stunted insular race 
occurs in Borneo and Singapore, at times also found on the continent of Malacca. $ with nearly orange-yellow, 
sharply defined median band of the hindwings showing beneath only reddish-brown spots, but no yellow 
sumatranus. fragmentary bands. —- sumatranus R. and J. has an obsolete white discal band of the under surface of the 
lampedo. hindwings. Very rare, only two specimens discovered by Dr. Martin. — lanipedo Hbn. an excellent race of 
which Semper once got 13 EC from Mariveles in Luzon, caught in May. The $ figured by Hubner, accor¬ 
ding to Semper, fits excellently to his Luzon specimens. Median band lighter and more extensive than in con¬ 
tinental and Macromalayan vicarious types. Under surface of the forewings chrome yellow. Hindwings with 
a pronounced reddish-brown discal longitudinal band. In the Tring Museum there are also EC and $$ 
from Mindanao and a from Mindoro. Semper, furthermore, mentions Cebu as another habitat. -—- 
