BHOPALOCERA MALAYANA. 



3(;' 



Kki. Uii. — I'osterior leg (if Eriorinta ihrui. 



I'lo. 111. — Lsrva ai]il pupa nf Erioiiola thrax. 

 ( from Horsf. & Moore, Cat. Lep. .M iis. E. I. C. i 



we examine the many alierraut characters possessed 

 by the Hespcriidcv it is difficult to refuse them a more 

 distinct position than is possessed by any of the 

 other families of butterflies. Thus the peculiar and 

 diverse positions of the wings in repose have already 

 been alluded to {anfca, p. 1, )wfr), whilst the generally 

 hooked antennae and the frequently chrystalid form 

 of pupation show how close is their relationship to 

 the Moths, iis Mr. Scudder has remarked, "Doubtless 

 these skippers* first separated from the common stock and 

 never developed to a high degree, since they still remain 

 by far the lowest of the group, and are in many points more 

 closely allied to some of the higher moths than they are to 

 any other butterflies." t 



Amongst the many peculiar habits of these ol)scure but 

 interesting butterflies, is their mode of flight, which in 

 Ceylon has been described by the late Dr. Thwaites as not uniform :— " Some flit about with 

 the greatest activity during the very hottest hours of the day, whilst others are somewhat 

 moth-like, making their appearance in the early morning or late in the eveuinc^." I Mr. P. If. 

 Gosse has recorded some curious experiences in breeding these butterflies in Alabama, ilu 

 writes :— " I have bred very many butterflies, and have universally found them, on first opening 

 the dark l)Ox in which they have been evolved, perfectly still, and making no attempt to escape 

 when touched with the fingers ; but these Skippers formed a singular exception. Before the 

 lid was half raised, all was scuffle and flutter within, the first intimation I had of their birth ; 

 though, as I had examined them every day, I knew by the discoloration of the pupa that the 

 change was near." § Prof. Westwood quotes Mr. Curtis as mentioning the curious circumstance 

 that old specimens, when alive, have frequently lost one or both of their palpi, an accident he 

 had only observed amongst the Heterocerous Pyralidse. || 



The classification of the genera of these obscure butterflies has long been a stumbling- 

 block to systematists, but has recently received considerable attention from many excellent 

 lepidopterists. The two earliest systems proposed were those of Hiibner and Latreille. That 

 of the first author is uncritical, his eight divisions or families being founded either on the shape 

 or colour-markings of the wings, and is therefore more or less superficial in character. That 

 of Latreille, published in the ' Encyclopedie Methodique,' is much more exhaustive, but based 

 greatly on similar characters to those relied upon by Hiibner. In 1873 Mr. S. Scudder 

 advocated the partition of the family into two main divisions, to which he applied the names 

 of Hesperidcs and Asti/ci, terms previously used by Latreille and Hiibner. The chief diagnosis 

 of these divisions is thus given: — "In the Hesperidcs the fore wing of the male is always 

 provided with a costal fold where a sort of silky down is concealed ; this feature is often very 



* A colloquial name ,!,nven to the Hespeniil;c. ou accouut of the sliort, jerking flight of the species. 

 f Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc. vi. p. 09 (lS77t. I Moore's Lep. Ceylou, vol. i. p. 156 (IbSl). 



§ ' Letters fi'oui Alabama.' p. 8C. I; lutrod. Moil. Class. lus. ii. p. 8G0. 



