330 Mr. G. T. Bethune-Baker's Notes on the 



their position, and in this case he alongside the tegnmen. 

 having shifted themselves to an almost vertical position ; 

 they are two curved long broad plates and lie along the 

 fore edge of the tegiimen somewhat obliquely, forming a 

 continuous collar with each other ventrally. The place 

 of the clasps, however, is occupied by a finely membranous 

 trough which apparently acts as a support for the aedoeagus, 

 which is of an excessively tine membranous character, and 

 were it not for the unusually large and heavily shagreened 

 vesica, might have passed almost unobserved. I hope I 

 have now brought forward sufficient evidence, both among 

 the higher groups of the Lepidoptera as well as among the 

 lower genera, to prove that the male armature is generally 

 speaking of as much value in the Taxonomy as in the 

 Phvlogeny of the families. I recognise there may be cases 

 where the value should be discounted, as there are cases 

 of neuration where it also is at a discount ; generally speak- 

 ing, however, neuration is one of our most valuable char- 

 acters, and inasmuch as it is present in both sexes it is 

 a more reliable character than the male armature ; but 

 these organs will not infrequently settle a disputed point 

 of generic affinity, as I have shown more than once in 

 these Transactions, and the more deeply I become ac- 

 quainted with them, the more am I impressed with the 

 fact that they are of the utmost value, not only for 

 differentiation of species but also of genera. 



AVhilst I am discussing the male armature I am desirous 

 of drawing attention to a few genera of the Rural idae with 

 somewhat abnormal male organs. The smallest species of 

 the group, omitting Zizula gaika perhaps, are two African 

 and two American species, ?'. e. should the latter really 

 prove to be distinct from each other. These must. I think, 

 be classed under the same genus. In 1876 (Bull. Buii'. 

 Soc. iii, p. l'2i) Scudder proposed the name Brcphidium 

 for the American ones, viz. exilis, Boisd., and isophthalma, 

 H. S. The African insects are meiophis. Wllgr., and 

 harherae, Trimen, which must certainly belong to the same 

 genus as the others or a closely allied one, and as they have 

 hitherto been placed in the " omnibus genera " Lycaena 

 or Cupido I accept Scudder's name for three out of four. 

 The male armature is on entirely similar lines, the neuration 

 is similar and the superficial facies is likewise similar on the 

 whole. The principal character of the armature is the 

 enormous development of the tegumen, which occupies 



