THE BUTTERFLIES OF CEYLON 17 
I know nothing of the history of this insect. It is difficult 
to imagine a new species of a large butterfly being discovered 
at Kandy, which is the headquarters of the native collectors 
and the best worked district in Ceylon. From the descrip- 
tion it seems possible that it may be a melanism of E. 
fraterna. It is larger than normal in that species, but the 
description of the under side tallies very closely. 
28. ELYMNIAS SINGHALA, M. and B.; Dyctis singhala, De 
N.; Elymnias (Melynias) stnghala, E 
Peculiar to Ceylon. 
Peradeniya is the headquarters of this insect, but it occurs 
sparingly in widely scattered localities. I have caught four 
specimens only at Haldummulla, two in 1889, when I was 
starting my Ceylon collection, and therefore catching every- 
thing, and one each in November of 1914 and 1915. 
It isverylike a Euplea on the wing, and so, I believe, often 
escapes notice. It is very easy to catch when identified. 
It is rare in the Kottawa forest, and has been taken at 
Ratnapura. 
MORPHINE. 
29. DIscOPHORA LEPIDA.—Also found in Southern India. 
Fruhstorfer separates our race as cevlonica. 
The male varies much in the number and size of the ocelli 
on the under side of the hind wing. I have one specimen 
with five perfectly formed and fairly large ocelli. 
A great rarity till its habits became known; the male is 
now easily obtainable, but the female is a prize. 
The male flies all the year round, but does not appear till 
dusk. It has its particular haunts, and a few may be found 
there any evening, flying backwards and forwards, with a 
very jerky and rather fast flight. Thanks to the bad light, 
they are then difficult to catch. I have searched frequently 
in a small jungle where I knew there were plenty, but have 
never succeeded in putting up a male in the daytime. The 
only two females I have seen on the wing were both flying in 
the middle of the day. The g comes readily to sugar as 
soon as it is dark; the 2 is said to come in the daytime 
