Pericopides. 51 



obliquo, interne breviore ; fasciis hyalinis multo latiori- 

 bus ; dimidio basali cellas discoidalis hyalino ; area externa 

 pallidiore, punctis septem submarginalibus hyalinis ; pos- 

 tica3 strigula discocellulari minus angulata ; area externa 

 aurantiaca ang-ustiore introrsum vix nigro limitata : alae 

 subtus dilutiores. 



Hab. — S. Geronimo, Vera Paz (Salviu) . 

 A local form of the Mexican P. Thetis. 



The Pericopides, according to the original arrangement 

 in the second volume of Mr. Walker's 'Lepidoptera 

 Heterocera/ were an ill-defined group, probably intended 

 to extend from Esthema to the end of Chrysavge j but 

 in the seventh volume, p. 1653, the limits of the group 

 are defined, a family being formed under the title of 

 Pericopidce, for the reception of the following- genera : — 

 Esthema, Heleona, Hyalurga, Cistidia, Dysphania, Peri- 

 copis, Phalo'e, Phaloesia, Composia, and Eucyane ; Mr. 

 Walker remarks that this family ^is connected with the 

 MelameridcB by means of Esthema and Eucyane, and has 

 some aflfinities with the Arctiidoe ;' no structural charac- 

 ters are given. 



As I do not consider the Pericopides to be sufficiently 

 distinct from the Arctiidce to form a separate family, I 

 have hitherto referred them to that family in the vicinity 

 of Gallimorpha. 



Excepting that I should add the two genera Stenele 

 and Hyelosia, I at present see no objection to the adop- 

 tion of Mr. Walker's 'Family' as a subgroup of the 

 Arctiidce ; the order of affinity in the genera seems to be 

 Esthem.a, Eucyane, Composia, Phaloesia, Stenele, Hyalurga, 

 Hyelosia, PJtaloe, Pericopis : I omit Heleona, Cistidia, and 

 Dysphania, because I have not seen types of these 

 groups, and inasmuch as they are Indo- Australian, whilst 

 all the other genera are Tropical American, it is quite 

 possible that they may prove to be more nearly allied to 

 the Lithosiidce * than to the Arctiidce. The whole of the 

 American Genera are characterized by having the an- 

 tennge prominently pectinated in the males and nearly 



* The Pericopides are placed in this family by Mr. Walker, to whom I 

 am indebted for much information respecting the Heterocera generally. 



p 9. 



