221 



THE ATHALIA GROUP OF THE GENUS MELITMA. 

 By George Wheeler, M.A., F.E.S. 



(Continued from p. 201.) 



The under side hind wing, speaking generally, consists of 

 five bands,* three lighter and two darker, all narrowly edged 

 with black, but each of these bands has its own characteristics, 

 which often help in determining the different species. The ter- 

 minal light band consists of two parts, a narrow edging, bordered 

 on each side, as in the fore wing, by a still narrower black line, 

 and a row of light lunules, the edging being usually darker than 

 the lunules. This band turns the corner, as it were, of the anal 

 angle, and appears as a triangular light spot, the inner line of 

 the border being sometimes absent. The outer dark band is also 

 divided into two parts, consisting of a row of lunules and of the 

 small irregular spaces between these and the black outer edging 

 of the central light band. This latter again consists of two 

 portions divided irregularly by a narrow dark line and broken 

 up into spots by the nervures, the inner division, except in deione 

 and asteria, being of a somewhat darker shade than the outer. 

 The third and fourth spots of the outer portion, counting from the 

 costa, stand out further from the base than the rest, conspicu- 

 ously so except in varia, and to an exaggerated degree in hrito- 

 martis. The inner dark band is much widened out in the centre, 

 where it contains a spot of the colour (or of one of the shades) 

 of the lighter bands. This we will refer to as the " light sjjot." 

 The basal light band consists of five spots, of which the lowest, 

 that on the inner margin, is frequently absent, the central one 

 being the smallest (usually much the smallest), the diminution 

 in size corresponding with the swelling in the centre of the 

 inner dark band, the light spot in which has a tendency in all 

 the species to break occasionally into the small central spot of 

 the basal band. The actual base of the wing is again behind 

 this band, and is cut up by the nervures into four spots, of 

 which, as a rule, only the third (which is roughly triangular, the 

 base resting on the fourth spot of the basal band) is at all con- 

 spicuous; sometimes, however, when the central spot of the basal 

 band is unusually small, the second spot is easily distinguish- 

 able ; the fourth, though much the largest and frequently invading 

 the whole area of the fifth spot of the basal band, is incon- 

 spicuous, as it has the appearance, especially when this fifth 

 spot is absent, of being a continuation along the inner margin 

 of the inner dark band. The light bands will be referred to as 

 the *' terminal," " central" and *' basal" the dark bands as the 



* It is confusing to speak of either the dark or hght bands as the ground 

 colour as many authors do. If either be so, it must be the light part, as seen 

 in the didyma-gr ovi]y. 



