CLASSIFICATION OF I5UTTERFLIES. G9 



(1883), J. r>. Smith divides the butterflies into five families (folhmino; as 

 he says M\ II. Edwards, though Kdwai-ds lias never defined a single 

 fjimily), Papilionidae, Nymi)halidae, Erycinidae, Lycaenidae, and Ilespe- 

 ridae : hut a couple of years later (loc. cit. 1885), he changes the order to 

 Nymphalidae, Erycinidae, Lycaenidae, Papilionidae, and Hesperidae. 



Claus, in Ills text book of zoology (Engl, ed., 1885), recognizes six 

 families whicli, though in no way characterized, are ranged in the following 

 order : — E(piitidae, Tieridac, Nymphalidae, Satyridae, Lycaenidae, Hes- 

 peridae. 



In the same year Girard published the Lepidoptera of his Traite d'ento- 

 mologic, in which, while he recognized but four principal groups, with the 

 same scope and sequence and (except their Gallic form) the same names 

 as will be found in the present work, the Nymphaliens are separated into 

 tweh-e different and equal divisions ; even in these, had not the Age'ronides 

 and Libytheides been placed at the head, the sequence would have been 

 substantially that employed in the present work. 



In this year also the late Dr. E. Schatz began his Avork on the structure 

 of butterflies in connection with Staudinger's Exotische schmetterlinge. In 

 this work, while recognizing the importance of Bates's contribution to the 

 classification of butterflies, the author fails to adopt its most characteristic 

 features (the limited number of primary groups, and the low position of 

 the Papilionidae), and subdivides butterflies into no less than fourteen fami- 

 lies, in the following order : Papilioniden, Pieriden, Danaiden, Neotropiden 

 [Danaoid Heliconidae of Bates], Heliconiden, Acraeiden, Nymphaliden 

 (in which twelve gvou\)S are recognized) Morphiden, Brassoliden, Satyriden, 

 Libytheiden, Eryciniden, Lycaeniden and Hesperiden. In this w^ork (un- 

 fortunately not completed before the death of the author) , an attempt is 

 made to define all the groups above species for the whole w^orld, but it is 

 by no means done in a satisfiictory manner. 



The last general attempt that has been made to give in a brief shape the 

 general classification of butterflies is that by Plotz in his System der schmet- 

 terlinge in 1886. In this compact little essay the butterflies are first divided 

 into Papilionidae and Hesperidae, the latter with the single family Hespe- 

 riina, the former with a still further intermediate grouping (presumably 

 families) into Nynq)halidae, Lemoniidae and Succinctae. The first of 

 these contains eight divisions : Heliconina, Danaina, Acraeina, Xympha- 

 lina, Morphina, Brassolina, Satyrina and Elymniina : the second, three : 

 Libytheina, Eumesiina and Erycinina ; and the third, three others : Lycae- 

 nina, Pieridina and Pxpiitina. The principal objection to this scheme is his 

 placing the Lycaenina in the same division with the Pieridina rather than with 

 the Erycinina, and the much greater distinction between the three subfamilies 

 of Succinctae than between most of the other subfiimilies. 



