vii 
of each individual writer. At present the tendency is to 
treat every form as a local race, if possible. 
This shows the importance of collecting all varieties, 
especially those which tend to connect our forms with 
Indian ones, and I would especially Impress upon beginners 
the importance of labelling every specimen accurately with 
locality and date of capture. 
I have often been asked what good the sendy of butterflies 
can do from an economic point of view. For answer I give 
what I fear is a very incomplete list of our butterflies, the 
larvee of which are known to feed on cultivated plants. 
It may be true that, with the exception of L. e/pis, which 
attacks cardamoms, none are at present known to be serious 
pests in Ceylon. Many feed on rice but their numbers seem 
to be kept in check by natural enemies; should, however, 
any slight change in the balance of Nature arise they might 
seriously affect the food supply of the Island. Even now, 
though the damage done in each field may be small, in the 
aggregate the loss must be very large. About one-tenth of 
our forms feed on grasses or paddy or both. They can be 
divided into four groups:—ist. Those which eat paddy 
for preference but can flourish on grasses when the rice crop 
is over. 2nd. Those which eat grasses for preference, but 
will attack paddy when the grass is dried up by a drought. 
3rd. Those which eat grasses or paddy indiscriminately, 
and 4th. Those which feed on grass only. From my 
limited observations I would put A. maro in the first group, 
P. colaca in the second, and M. /eda in the third. I know 
no representative of the 4th class for certain. If any one 
wishes to take up the study of butterflies from the economic 
point of view I could recommend no better subject for him 
to start on. 
I have been asked to include instructions for preserving 
butterflies in this volume. I would recommend beginners 
to piachase one of the numerous handbooks on the subject, 
which treat it fuller and more ably than I could do. 
Dr. Knagg’s “‘ Lepidopterist’s Guide ’’ is one of the best. 
