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SPOLIA zeylanica. 
A Pied Kingfisher ( Ceryle varia) hovered in the air with 
rapidly beating wings, then fell like a dart perpendicularly into 
the shallow water beside the causeway at Elephant Pass. It was 
lip again in a moment, having apparently failed in its object, and 
flew off to its perch. Do these birds transfix their prey ? The 
action certainly suggests this mode of capture. 
Papilio hector was the most prominent insect on the North road. 
It was certainly the commonest butterfly in Jaffna. I could 
generally count two or three in the field of vision at any time. 
On a former visit to Jaffna, in the month of March, a similar 
abundance of this species was noticeable. They were even flying 
past and over the steamer in considerable numbers all the way 
between Paumben and Jaffna. Its food plant was not conspicuous. 
I do not recollect having observed a single plant of Aristolochia 
during my journey or my stay in Jaffna. 
Of flowers, en route , there was a marked scarcity. Most of the 
trees seemed to be in fruit. The Cassia fistula carried young pods, 
though an occasional tree was still in partial flower. A species 
of Capparis bore vivid crimson balls. The climbing lily, Gloriosa 
superba , formed the only note of colour until we neared 
Elephant Pass, when a Clitoria showed heavenly splashes of blue 
on the shrubs over which it clambered. 
C. —Jaffna (December). 
Here the object of my visit was to investigate a plague of cater¬ 
pillars that was devastating the paddy fields. I quite expected that 
the insect would prove to be a species of Leucania , but when the 
moths commenced to emerge in my breeding cages they con¬ 
founded me by appearing in the garb of Spodoptera mauritia , 
Boisd. Spodoptera is a monotypic genus represented by this 
single species. It has a wide geographical distribution, being 
recorded from West Africa, Mauritius (whence it takes its 
specific name), Shanghai, and throughout the Oriental and 
Australian regions. But the caterpillar appears to have been 
unobserved hitherto. It has certainly never attracted attention as 
an insect pest. 
The caterpillars had evidently been present in vast armies; but 
the heavy rains during the last few days had greatly reduced the 
number. Crows, too, were busily engaged in thinning the ranks. 
This abnormal increase appears to result from a failure of the 
usual rains in October and November. The natural checks of 
such caterpillars are, to a great extent, fungal and bacterial 
diseases which are unable to develop in a period of drought. 
These caterpillars had travelled for considerable distances* 
