278 APHNAEUS; CIGAEITIS. Bij Dr. A. Seitz. 



19. Genus: Aphnaeus Hbn. 



Small, delicate and very graceful butterflies with less glitter; recognizable by the light yellow or 

 pale brown underside being traversed by parallel chain-like bands which contain silvery lines. The hind- 

 wing bears two thin and rather long tails which project from the bright-coloured anal area. The sexes are 

 not so different as in Ilerdu. Larva cylindrical, minutely hairy, with the segments very indistinctly separat- 

 ed, head large, segment 12 with two processes from which tentacles can be projected. Pupa rounded 

 everywhere, with a shallow depression behind the thorax. The butterflies fly very fast and settle with the 

 wings half open on the twigs of bushes. They occur quite singly, and although some species are not 

 exactly rare, I do not recall any excursion on which I have obtained more than one specimen of 

 Aph7iaeus; often I did not see a specimen for weeks. Besides South Asia the genus also occurs in the Ethiopian 

 Region. 



syama. A. syama Horsf. (= syma Westw., orissanus Moore) (75 h). One of the larger species. (J above 



strongly gUttering violet-blue. Underside dull sulphur-yellow, the bands but little curved, straight, usually 

 uninterrupted, almost as broad as the interspaces; the anal area of the hindwing beneath not occupied by 

 peguanus. a large red patch. Otherwise not dissimilar to lohita, which is much lighter beneath. In ab. peguanus 

 Moore the dull reddish yellow underside has the bands bright red. — West and Central China; also dis- 

 tributed over a large part of India and extending to Malacca, Java and the Philippines; singly, but 

 not rare. 



lohita. A. lohita Horsf. (75 h). Above almost identical with the preceding species; beneath very pale yel- 



low, with a large bright red anal patch on the hindwing. The species is distributed throughout the Him- 

 alayas eastwards to the Philippines and southwards to Ceylon and the Malayan islands, numerous races 



zoilu.'i. having been described {lazularia, himalayanus, zebrinus, etc.). In ab. zoilus Moore (75 h), first described 

 from the Andamans, but according to Leech the prevalent form in West China, differs in being larger and 

 in the bands of the underside, instead of dark brown, being black ornamented with broader silver dashes; 

 the upperside more extended and paler blue. — Larva longer and narrower than most other larvae of 

 Lycaenids, being less short woodlouse-shaped, the head porrect, the back minutely hairy, colour grey-brown 

 minutely irrorated with whitish, each segment with a black transverse dorsal shadow, at each side of 

 which there is a thin white oblique line; on Convolvulaceae. Pupa red-brown, the anterior part with dark 

 markings and the abdomen minutely dotted with white. The butterflies occur singly about thorn-bushes; 

 they fly very fast, but soon settle again. 



ictis. A. ictis Hew. (75 h). A smaller form. The upperside of the forewing bears a discal ochreous spot, which is 



broken up and is larger in the $ than in the (J. Underside yellowish brown or reddish brown, sometimes so dark 



elima. that only the silvery centres of the l^ands contrast with the ground, such specimens being ab. elima 



trifurcala. Moore. In ab. trifurcata Moore the discal patch of the forewing is a regular triangle. — All three forms 



occur in Kahmir from July until October, extending over South India to Ceylon; in the southern districts 



ictis appears to be seasonally dimorphic. 



zaffra. A. zaffra Nicev. A large form, almost as large as loliita. Above with a rich blue glitter, the fore- 



wing usually bearing a reddish yellow discal spot. Underside yellowish flesh-colour, the bands of exactly 

 the same colour as the ground, only their silvery centres and thin black edges being visible. — Kashmir, 

 but particularly in the non- Palearctic southern districts, Kulu, in Ma.y and June. 



20. Genus: Cig-aritis Luc. 



Very close to Afhnaeus, with which it is united by many authors. Differs in the underside being 

 bright yellowish red and bearing, particularly near the margins, seriated dark dots and shadows, the dark 

 bands of Afhnaeus with their silver-lines being replaced by chains of pearls, which are usually pupilled 

 with silver and stand widely separate in many species. The head is small, the palpi being rather long, 

 thin and porrect, the frons broad and the eyes pale-edged. Antennae about half the length of the costal 

 margin, gradually incrassate to a moderate club. The hindwing always with two tails, but the usually 

 long tails reduced to short points in a few forms. — The butterflies are small and fly low, apparently occur- 

 ing particularly in dry, almost desert-like, localities. They rest with closed wings on the bare ground and 

 are not disturbed even when covered with the net. They fly about in sun-shine, always for short dis- 

 tances only, but very fast, abandoning themselves to the wind. Their haunts are very restricted, being 

 usually nearly bare hills or slopes with corn-fields. As they do not appear to venture very far from 

 their flight-places, they are very local. Not one of the species appears to occur in such numbers as some 

 Chrysophanus and Thestor. One species {si-phax) I found to be double-brooded. 



The genus as nowadays restricted is almost exclusively Palearctic, only one species extending into 

 North- Western India. However, a number of Ethiopian forms and some Indian species of Aphnaeus come 

 very close to Cigar His. 



