160 LYCANIDA. LAMPIDES. 
Lampides appears to be a purely tropical and subtropical oriental genus, occurring almost 
throughout India, in Ceylon, the Andaman and Nicobar Isles, Burma, and the Malay peninsula 
and islands, but, unlike Macaduba, Jamides, and Catochrysops, has not been recorded from 
Australia. There is a great similarity in the markings of all the species of the genus: the 
upperside of the male is either metallic azure-blue or bluish-white* (thus enabling one to 
divide them into two groups), with a more or less wide outer black margin, which is reduced 
to an anteciliary thread on the hindwing ; the females are paler blue, with the black border to 
the forewing very broad, broad on the hindwing also, enclosing a series of lunules of the 
ground-colour. The markings of the underside in both groups are much the same, three 
marginal white lines being common to both wings, the forewing having four, the hindwing 
six similar lines across the disc. The arrangement of these markings and the details of the 
ocelli near the anal angle of the hindwing afford excellent specific distinctions. 
On the underside of the forewing, the four discal striz form good characters by which to 
distinguish the different species, and hence may be designated the ‘* characteristic ” strize : the 
one nearest the base being distinguished as no. 1, and that nearest the exterior margin as no. 4, 
These lines are sometimes continuous and carried in a gentle curve partly or wholly across 
the wing transversely from the costa to the interior margin ; sometimes they are broken up into 
fragments more or less out of line : sometimes they are completely dislocated and the lower 
fragments shifted completely out of line. The two original species, Z. e/pzs, Godart, and 
L. elianus, Fabricius, are clearly distinguished by these strize. 
In Z. e/pis the four strize are quite distinct from one another and more or less parallel: 
nos, I and 2 are long and parallel, arising at some distance from the costa and nearly reaching 
the inner margin: nos. 3 and 4 are short, arising close to the costa and ending on the second 
and third median nervules respectively. ; 
In Z. elianus all four strize arise close to the costa, and in this case nos. 1 and 3 are the 
long and nos, 2 and 4 the short striz: the long striz being subject to dislocation of their 
lower portions, which may thus appear to form the lower straight strokes of one or two Ys. 
This is fully described under the species. 
L. coruscans, Moore, L. kondulana, Felder, and Z, kaxkena, Felder, form a group with the 
strize arranged as, or nearly as, in Z. e/fis: and may be distinguished by the absence of Ys. 
L. @lianus, Fabricius, presents either two Ys, one Y formed of striz nos. 1 and 2, or 
one Y intermediate between nes. I and 4 striz, in some cases having no Ys; but in this case 
the long strize are nos. 1 and 3, in Z, e/fzs the long strize are nos. I and 2. 
L. pura, Moore, and ZL. pseudelpis, Butler, present a medial Y between striz nos. 1 
and 4. 
L. subdita, Moore, and Z, kinkurka, Felder, present a basal Y formed of striz nos. 1 
and 2. 
The great difficulty there isin identifying the species of this genus has led to the follow- 
ing remark by Mr. Doherty :—“It is to be hoped that no more species of this genus will 
be described without an examination of the prehensores of the males, which are fortunately 
of great diversity in the different kinds, as if to counterbalance their puzzling similarity in 
colour and markings.” 
In India, where, as a rule, the climate may be divided into two well-marked divisions, a 
dry and a wet, much seasonal dimorphism obtains in the typical species of each group. In 
the dry-season broods of Z. e/pis, this takes the form of the metallic azure colour of the upper- 
side of the male being of a paler shade; of the marginal black markings of the upperside 
of the hindwing of the female being much less prominent, and often, indeed, more or less 
obsolete; and of a pale ferruginous shade being substituted, with concomitant blurring of the 
white markings, for a plumbeous one in the ground-colour of the underside of both sexes. The 
seasonal changes in Z. e/ianus are of even greater extent and distinctness, If the dry-season 
_ © L. marakata, Doherty, MS., is an exception to this almost universal styie of coloration, the male being 
light green on the upperside, v/de description on page 174. 
