NYMPHALIN7E. 
47 
Hypolimnas misippus, Linn. 
Seems to be rare and very irregular in its appearance here. For some six years I never 
saw this butterfly here till, in 1904, several were taken at Macao between May and November. 
The following year it was again hardly to be seen in this district. It is a very remarkable insect, 
for though the $ is not unlike the $ of H. bolina , the $ is an almost perfect mimic, both in 
marking and colouring, of Danais ( Limnas ) chrysippus , and the females seem to vary greatly 
in size, which is also the case with the Danais. H. misippus is a butterfly with a wide distribution, 
occurring in many parts of the world but apparently nowhere very abundant, except perhaps in S. 
Africa, where D. chrysippus is also very numerous. The present insect has the flight and habits 
of the foregoing sp., and is fond of Lantana , both flowers and foliage. When the $ is in company 
with the Danais , as I have seen it when flying slowly over and feeding at flowers, it is almost 
impossible to distinguish between them; at other times its flight is often very swift, like that of the 
The $ is fond of resting in the shade on the underside of a leaf. 
Fig. 13, PI. VII is from a $ taken in May; Fig. 1, PI. VIII from a small £ taken in June. 
Other specimens are much larger, one taken in September measuring four inches over the forewings. 
Ergolis ariadne, Linn. 
Usually a very common insect here, occurring throughout the year, but occasionally it 
seems to fail altogether. It has rather a weak flight and likes to rest on foliage, but it is also 
rather partial to Lantana flowers, though not often seen at any other kinds. It frequents waste 
ground, roadsides bordered with vegetation and the outskirts of villages, where the Castor-oil plant 
frequently grows, and generally flies not far from the ground. Ergolis has a curious thickening 
or dilation of the costal nervure at the base, very much like the dilated base of the sub-costal and 
median nervures in the Satyrince, and seems to be closely allied to the Elymniince , a small 
group of butterflies chiefly inhabiting the Malay Archipelago, and which are related to the Satyrince. 
The sexes of E. aria due are very similar, but the $ has the two first sub-costal nervules of the 
hindwing white on the upperside; the $ is usually lighter or yellower in colour on the upperside, 
lighter generally beneath and often minutely irrorated with whitish, especially on some of the light- 
coloured bands of the hindwings. Ergolis usually rests with expanded wings, or even with the 
tips drooping below the body. It seems to be liable to creasing and malformation of the wings. 
There is no perceptible seasonal variation. 
Egg, sub-globular, but somewhat pointed at the top, striated axially, green; laid singly 
on the underside of leaves of the foodplant, Ricinus communis , a common plant in many hot 
countries, said to be originally a native of Western Asia or Africa. 
The larva is figured on PI. 3 a, Fig. 3, pupa Fig. 4. Just hatched the larva is of a 
yellow-brown, and the two spines on the head are no longer than those on the body. The larvae 
generally rest in full view on the upperside of the leaves. The pupae vary in general colour, some 
being pinkish, others greenish. 
