IMK sntl-AMII.V LK.MOMINAK. 776 



The insects of tliit* grou|) "iire of small sizu anil itCtcii <it" very brilliant 

 I'olonrs. . . . Some of the species have the hind wings jn-oduced into 

 two or more tails, often nf very great length, thus resembling the 

 genera l*a|iiliii and Theela ; others in the I'orni oC their wings hear a cer- 

 tain resemhlanee to till' Hi|)|>arehiae, I lelieonii, \yni|iliales, etc. (^\'est- 

 wood, liitrod. chissif. ins., ii : 2."i7). ".More than any other hutterflics," 

 says Wallace (Trans, entom. Soc. Lund. [2] ii : H'y'I-S), writing of the 

 fauna of the Amazons, these insects 



»ro the inliiibitaiits of the virgin forest, In wliosc dark recesses many of the rarer 

 and lovelier species arc alone to be fonnd. The ftreat mass of the species have a very 

 peculiar habit of Invariably selllin^ and reposinj; on the iimler surface of leaves with 

 tile Willis expanded, bat there are some striking; exceptions to this nile. Nymi)ld- 

 diuni always expands its winjjs in repose. Ciiaris [very closely allied to our C'alepiie- 

 Is] always exposes itself on tlie upper surface of leaves. Tlie Erycinas lly as 

 strongly and as rapidly as the Ilesperidae. Eniesis and Nyraplndinm are also rapid 

 tlyers. . . . Most of tlie other genera are weak but ratlier active fivers. 



De Niceville states that the Indian species "all have an extremely rapid 

 flight, so fast, indeed, as to l)e very difticidt to follow with the eye, but 

 seldom for more than a few yards, when thev settle ajrain." 



The eggs of this group arc very imperfectly known, hut j)robahly will 

 be found to agree in being of a tiaratc form, rather higher in proportion 

 to their breadth than in Lycaeninae, with more or less distinctly reticulate 

 siirtace, often with short, tapering filaments at the angles of the reticula- 

 tion. The caterpillars, very few of which arc known, arc rather more 

 varied in appearance and structure than those of the succeeding group ; 

 and, like the perfect insects, are closely allied by structure to the Lycaeninae, 

 while they often appear to ontwanlly resemble distantly related groups — 

 particularly the Ilesperidae and Mor|)hinae. They are rarely so strikingly 

 onisciform as the caterpillars of Lycaeninae, and are sometimes furnished 

 with tufts of short hairs, and even, on the first thoracic segment, with long 

 spines. The first segment of the body is not enormously developed, nor 

 is the head retractile to the extent that is found in the Lycaeninae, 

 Very little is known of the earlier stages of these insects or of their trans- 

 formations. The ehrysalids closely resemble those of the ne.\t subfamilv, 

 but are more elongated (as the caterjiillars usually are) and remarkable 

 for the long, somctiines very long, and usually very scanty hairs with 

 which they are clothed ; they have a less flattened ventral sui-face than the 

 Lycaeninae. and arc usually much more variegated in color. Some are 

 girt as in the Lycaeninae, others hang by the tail alone, but in some of these 

 cases, perhaps all, stiffly, so as to hug the surface to which they are attached, 

 and not to hang freely as in the Nym]>lialidae. I add, for the better ex- 

 planation of the statements in this paragraph, a general review of all that 

 can be Iearne<l upon this subject, gleaned from all the sources which I have 

 been able to consult. 



