COMMON BUTTERFLIES OF THE PLAINS OF INDIA. 573 



form of this structure is when they coalesce through their entire length 

 and one vein disappears altogether ; or the process may be reversed 

 and the veins tend to separate again until there is nothing but a small 

 bar connecting them. 



Often a vein becomes " abortive, " being traceable only as a fold in 

 the wing. 



The majority of butterflies are so large that the structure of the wing 

 can be easily seen even without a lens, but in the case of others a drop of 

 benzine applied with a camel's hair brush on the underside will make 

 all the veins stand out clearly at once while leaving the wing quite 

 uninjured as soon as it is dry. 



The third section of the butterfly is the abdomen, to which are at- 

 tached the genital appendages, but as the structure of these is of very 

 little importance for our purpose they need not be described here. 



Butterflies are classified under seven families, the distinctions between 



which as set forth in the following table should be easily understood 



from the foregoing : — 



A. Wings with all the veins present and rising independent- 

 ly from each other 7 Hespeiiadce. 



A A. Forewing with one or more veins absent or stalked. 

 B. Anterior legs fully developed in both sexes. 



C. Hindwings. 1. a. absent (i Papilionidce. 



CC. „ 1. a. present 5 Pieridce. 



BB. Anterior legs rudimentary in both sexes useless 

 for walking. 



D. Forewings vein 12 greatly swollen at 



base 2 Satyridce. 



* DD. Forewings veins normal , 1 Nymphalidce. 



BBS. Anterior legs of $ only aborted 3 Erycinidce. 



BBBB. „ „ „ abbreviated or with one or 



both claws absent 4 Lyccenidce. 



FAMILY I. NYMPHALIDCE. 



Part II. — Descriptive. 

 The species we are illustrating in this family belong to fifteen 

 different genera which may be separated by the characters given in 

 the following table : — 



A. Hindwings with cell closed, veins 3 and 4 separate. 



B. Forewings veins 9 and 10 stalked 11 Telchinia. 



BB. „ „ „ separate or from a 



point only 



6 



