1 68 SOUTH-AFRICAN BUTTERFLIES. 



Chrysorycliia. Legs, longer and thinner than in Chrysorychia, and not, 

 or very slightly, hairy ; fore-legs of $ usually with more or less developed 

 spur and spine at extremity of tibia ; — of ^ rarely similarly armed ; 

 middle and hind-legs with tibial spurs longer than in Chrysorychiei. 



Pupa. — Thick, rounded, with blunt head and dorso -thoracic pro- 

 minence. Without silken attachment, lying quite free under stones 

 {Z. Thyra). 



Boisduval did not describe this genus, but merely figured as its 

 type {op. cit.) Zeritis Neriene, a species said to be from Guinea. 

 Blanchard's brief diagnosis gives the generic name as " Zerythis, 

 Boisd.," with the obvious intention of preserving the earlier author's 

 designation ; his types are Z. Tliero and Z. Thyshe of Linnreus. 

 Hiibner's much earlier nominal generic titles of Phasis (for the two 

 species just named and Z. Fedmus of Cramer) and Alocides (for Z. 

 Thyra of Linnteus and Z. Pierus of Cramer) have never been diagnosed 

 by any author,^ and are therefore not adopted ; while Swainson's Nais, 

 as Westwood {op. cit.) remarks, is inadmissible from the fact that it is 

 Cramer's species-name for the type {= Thyshe, Linn.) converted into the 

 name of the genus. 



There are five tolerably pronounced forms in this interesting genus, 

 represented by the following species, viz., Z. Nericne, Boisd. (with 

 which I provisionally — not having seen Nericne in nature — associate 

 Lcromcc, Wallengr.) ; Z. Zeuxo (Linn.) ; Z. Thyshe (Linn.) ; Z. Thero 

 (Linn.) ; and Z. Thyra (Linn.) The first section is characterised by a 

 rather squarely chequered under surface of ochrey-yellow and cream- 

 coloured spots separated by black lines ; but this in Lerorna is much 

 obscurer in tint (though dotted here and there with silvery points), 

 while the upper side is in both sexes uniform glossy dull-grey. The 

 Zeuxo section includes the brilliant forms which, in their shining 

 golden or coppery-red upper sides spotted with black, so nearly re- 

 semble the genus Chrysophanus ; their under side is more or less 

 ornamented with glittering steely or brassy spots. The third or 

 Thyshe section is closely related to the second, but the fore-wings are 

 angulated, the hind- wings with a distinct process at anal angle, and 

 the under side adorned with remarkable silvery H- and W-like char- 

 acters in the hind- wings. In the Thero section, the upper-side colour- 

 ing is dark-brown with orange-red (not metallic or glossy) spots or 

 patches ; the under side is splendidly adorned with metallic silvery- 

 white spots and other markings ; the fore-wings are angulated or 

 elbowed; and there is usually, besides the anal-angular projection, a 

 small pointed process at the end of the first median nervule. The last 

 section, represented by Thyra., is of a more robust type, with the 

 upper side non-metallic, almost always orange -red bordered with 

 blackish-brown and unspotted, while the under side is coloured with 



^ Hubnev's own line and a half of description are, as usual, utterly insufficient for the 

 purpose. 



