recapitulatory attitudes in Lepidoptera. 345 



to the dorsal (butterfly) position in about twenty minutes ; 

 in about ten minutes more they are gradually separated, 

 so that in two or three minutes the wings are separated so 

 that the apices are some 18 mm. apart, the angle between 

 the wings being about 40 ^ They remain thus for about 

 six or seven minutes, the wings appearing to be quite dry 

 and stiff. They then gradually close, at the rate of about 

 1 mm. (for each wing) a minute, and in ten or twelve minutes 

 the butterfly attitude (the normal resting attitude of 

 piniaria) is reached, to appearance, but they are not tightly 

 closed for ten or twenty more minutes. The whole process 

 is. gone through very rapidly (compared with most other 

 species). After the wings are dry they are separated, but 

 not widely, so that the reminiscence of the flat deltoid 

 attitude, though still present, is comparatively brief and 

 slight. The process reminds one of that obtaining in the 

 butterflies, but the important difference is that it takes 

 place after, not during drying; also, of course, it is one, 

 not a succession of movements. 



*S. illunaria and F. piniaria both have a normal resting 

 attitude similar to that of the butterflies, with the wings 

 raised over the back ; but the reminiscence of the ordinary 

 Geometrid attitude which they display, in the interval 

 between the coinpletion of the drying of the wings and the 

 assumption of their resting attitude, two attitudes that are 

 identical and that one would expect to find continuous, is 

 curiously different in the two species. In both species, 

 however, the reminiscence is there. 



In the Etudes de Lepidopterologie Compares, Fasc. V (ii), 

 p. 1 15, Mr. H. Powell records how Syrichthus mohanmied, 

 Obthr., having expanded its wings in the closed (" butter- 

 fly") attitude, depresses them to the Geometrid or tri- 

 angular position, and gives photographs on PI. Hj, Fasc. 

 VI and PI. Hb, Fasc. V (ii) and of S. proto on PI. 27, 

 Fasc. VII. He says this position is kept for only a short 

 period. In complete repose the wings are closed in butter- 

 fly attitude ; when basking, the depressed wings have the 

 costae at right angles to the body ; when resting briefly 

 the fore-wings are well raised. This merely summarises a 

 valuable demonstration that the recapitulatory attitude is 

 very manifest in Syrichthus. In this habit the " Skipper " 

 appears to be nearer the Heterocera than to the butterflies. 



