LYCANID®. APHNASUS. 347 
Lava fusiform, slightly hairy, constrictions between the segments not prominent, head 
large, twelfth segment with prominent pillar-like organs extruding tentacula, Pupa of the 
usual lyczenid shape, smooth, rounded, humped on the middle of the thorax. 
“The species of this genus have hitherto been placed in the genus 4phnaeus, the type 
of which is the African A. orcas, Drury, which has five [four from my point of view, six 
from that of Moore] subcostal nervules to the forewing, and consequently is quite distinct from 
Spindasis, which has but four [three]. The late Mr. Hewitson pointed out the difference in 
the’ neuration, and though Mr. Moore, in his ‘Lepidoptera of Ceylon,’ describes the 
genus Afkneus on the characters of Ceylon species, and correctly gives the type of the 
genus as A. orcas, he must have been unable to examine a specimen of that species.” 
“ There has been, however, no necessity to make a new generic name, as Wallengren pro- 
posed his Spindasis for the species hitherto known as Aphneus natalensis, Doubleday and 
Hewitson, and under that generic name the Eastern species will find their natural classifica- 
tion.” (Distant, 1. c.) 
In this contention I think Mr. Distant is wrong. Mr. Moore correctly describes the 
species of the genus with three subcostal nervules to the forewing, but he takes orcas of 
Drury as the type, which has quite a different neuration ; hence as he does not. correctly de- 
scribe his type species, which has four subcostal nervules, I think his action in fixing the type 
as orcas may be disregarded. Hiibner placed two species only in his genus Aphnueus, viz :— 
vulcanus and orcas. The first should be taken as the type, and orcas and hutchinsonit, Trimen, 
be placed in a new genus, for which I propose the name Aphnemorpha*, Type, orcas, Drury. 
Wallengren’s name Sfindasts cannot be used for the species with three subcostal nervules to 
the forewing, as his type and only species is his masz/ikaz¢, which I gather from Mr. Roland 
Trimen’s ‘‘ South-African Butterflies,” vol. ii, p. 147, has the normal neuration of the genus 
Aphneus. To prevent misunderstanding, I should point out that Mr. Trimen considers that 
A, natalensis, Doubleday and Hewitson, and A. masilikazi, Wallengren, to be distinct species, 
‘the latter being usually placed as a synonym of the former. 
Aphkneus is a large and rapidly increasing genus, of which I am quite unable to estimate 
the number of known species. Mr. Moore has recorded six from Ceylon, and a seventh 
certainly occurs there. Mr. Distant gives only one from the Malay Peninsula, several occur in 
the Malay Archipelago, about thirty species have been recorded from India, one or two occur in 
Persia and Asia Minor, and Mr. Distant says that the genus is ‘‘ particularly well represented 
in Africa.” The genus is a most compact one, and no one can fail instantly to recognise any 
species as belonging to it, all having a facies peculiarly their own. In the greater number of 
species, the males have the upperside more or less most beautifully glossed with rich iridescent 
blue, which is only visible in certain lights. In no female does this coloration occur. The 
male has no secondary sexual characters. In the case of species which have no blue coloration 
in the male, the male can be known from the female by its more pointed forewing, with the 
outer margin nearly straight ; the latter sex having the apex more rounded, the outer margin 
convex, and the wings generally broader. All the species have the underside traversed 
by several bands, usually of a darker colour than the ground, often outwardly defined with 
black, and bearing a medial metallic silvery line. The anal angle of the hindwing is producs 
ed into a lobe, which is usually marked with orange on both sides, and bears two black spots, 
All the species have two tails, and the abdomen is striped, The flight of all the species of 
the genus is immensely rapid, and can barely be followed by the eye, but they seldom fly 
far and frequently settle with closed wings on low-growing flowers or on bushes. In Sikkim 
males may be taken in large numbers, sucking up moisture on damp spots in the partially 
dried-up beds of streams, &c. Species of the genus appear to occur almost everywhere ; in the 
plains they are found even in the desert tracts as well as in the regions of heavy rainfall and 
* Generic name and poppn. 
