THE BUTTERFLIES OF CEYLON 33 
I have never caught it below 4,500 feet, but it is very com- 
mon at times above that elevation. It is not difficult to 
catch, but the easiest way to get perfect specimens is to 
collect the pupz. The larvze feed on Heterophylla palmata, 
and tie the leaves into a ball about the size of an orange; 
the pup can be found inside these balls, which are very 
conspicuous. The best implements for collecting them 
are a pair of scissors and a biscuit tin, as the sting of the 
nettle is painful, though it passes off quickly. 
The English stinging nettle has now appeared on the 
Golf Links at Nuwara Eliya and the larve can generally be 
found on it. ; 
Localities: Nuwara Eliya, Haputale, Pattipola, etc., 
wherever the food plant grows. 
57. VANESSA HARONICA, M. and De N.; Vanessa canace 
haronica, B.; Vanessa (Kaniska) canace haronica, E. 
Peculiar to Ceylon, and seems to deserve specific rank. 
It differs from canace as follows: ‘‘ The broad blue band 
is discal, not post-discal, and anteriorly is continuous with 
the broad short oblique bar beyond the cell, not commencing, 
as in canace, below the pre-apical white spot. On the hind 
wing the band is without the series of black spots, but beyond 
it there is a transverse post-discal row of small blue spots ”’ 
(Bingham). 
Specimens showing any signs of grading into canace are 
very rare. There is one specimen in the Museum collection 
in which the blue band on the upper wing is distinctly 
forked, the outer branch continuing to the pre-apical white 
spot. In a few cases, where the blue band is especially 
wide, there are distinct signs of the post-discal black spots 
on the lower wing. In general appearance, however, the 
two butterflies are very distinct. Moreover, according to 
authorities quoted by Bingham, their larve are most dis- 
tinct, as follows :— 
Canace.—‘‘ Segments alternately orange and white, with 
numerous black spots on the orange segments, and black 
streaks on the white. Seven white branching black-tipped 
spines on each orange segment. ’’ 
