THE COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OI INDIA. 135 



surface moisture. It has been bred on the flowers of Butea 

 frondosa known as the Flame of the Forest ; on Crotalaria capensis, 

 on the Common Pea, Meliloius and on other leguminous plants, 

 devouring the seeds. This is the Long-tailed Blue of England 

 where it is, however, rare. It is found throughout Southern 

 Europe, Africa, almost throughout Asia except in the very North, 

 right away to, and also in, Australia. 



The figures 48 of the male and 48a of the female on Plate G are 

 both two dull and dark and too pink ; the male upperside in nature 

 does not show the light streaks along the veins and subterminally 

 on the fore wing ; the female has the blue lighter on the upperside 

 and the white of both upper and undersides should be much less 

 pure. 



With this genus ends, for the purpose of these papers, the sub- 

 family of the Lycceninc^ characterized by normal legs, veins 5 and 

 6 of fore wiug being distant at bases, vein 7 terminating at or 

 before apex on costal margin (difterentiating it from Curetince. and 

 Liphyrince, subfamilies which each contain only one genus, the 

 former with two species, the latter with only one) and by having 

 the outline of the wings quite entire with, at the outside, only 

 a single, thi*ead-like tail at the extremity of vein 2 of the hind 

 wing; this last character separating it off from the subfamily 

 Theclince which all have a rounded lobe at anal angle as well as 

 a tail, often also extra tails at veins 1 and 3. The subfamily 

 Arhopalmce can at once be separated by having veins 5, 6 of the 

 fore wing close together at their bases ; an easy matter to settle 

 with an ordinary lens and a little benzine. 



17. Genus — Curetis. 



This is a single genus in the subfamily CuretitKS and consists of two species 

 thetis and bulis recognised by Hewitson, deNiceville and Bingham though 

 de Niceville enumerates no less than 7 varieties of the former species 

 described by different authors and Bingham, 4 ; and 6 and 7 respectively 

 of bulls. The butterflies are powerful fliers, quick and strong on the wing, 

 are of large size varying from 1"6 to 2 inches in expanse, the males a rich 

 coppery red on the upperside with a broad or tine black border, the 

 females white or ochreous with black borders that, in certain cases, 

 completely obliterate the discal, light patches ; the undersides of both are 

 white, more or less pure and glossy in thetis, silvery- white or silvery- 

 greyish in bulls with transverse markings and dots or specks of blackish ; 

 the outline of the wings of thetis is even and constant, whereas, in the 

 other species, the outline is extremely inconstant running to a falcate 

 apex in the fore wing and production of the anal angle and outer margin 

 in the hind wing. The distribution of the various forms gives no clue to 

 their claim to be treated as distinct species. De Niceville says he knows 

 no character by which the variable females of thetis can be paired with the 

 more constant males. The larva is most abnormal both in shape and in 

 the possession of permanently exerted tubes of considerable length to the 

 organs on segment 12. The pupa is also exceptional being nearly semi- 



