HYPERMNESTHA. 131 



Genus HYPERMNESTRA. 



Ismene, Nickerl (nee Swainson), Stett. ent. Zeit. 1846, p. 207. 

 Hypermnestra, Menetries, Cat. Mus. Petr., Lep. Pt. i, 185-5, p. 7. 



Type, H. Mios, Nick., from Turkestan. 



Range. Turkestan, Persia, Baluchistan. 



S $ Fore wing : costa almost straight for three-fourths of its 

 length from base, the apical fourth arched ; apex blunt ; termen 

 straight or very slightly convex; tornus broadly rounded; dorsum 

 straight ; cell slightly longer than half length of costa ; vein 6 

 and 7 closely approximate at base, upper discocellular therefore 

 very short, barely indicated ; middle discocellular concave, long ; 

 veins 4 and 5 also closely approximate, lower discocellular there- 

 fore very short ; vein 8 absent ; vein 9 from apical half of 7, 

 terminating below apex of wing; veins 10 and 11 free, 10 from 

 just below upper apex of cell, 11 from upper third of subcostal; 

 vein 12 terminates on costa well beyond upper apex of cell ; veins 

 12, 11, and 10 run very close together towards their apical halves, 

 but neither anastomose nor touch. Hind wing elongate, irregu- 

 larly pear-shaped; costa slightly arched, the curve continued 

 abruptly and strongly along the termen, tornal angle distinct ; 

 dorsum widely emarginate ; cell somewhat longer than half the 

 wing ; veins 4 and 5 more or less approximate, but not closely so, 

 the discocellular between their bases erect ; precostal vein curved 

 outwards. Antennae short, about one-third the length of costa of 

 fore wing; club short, abrupt, spatulate ; head hairy in front, eyes 

 smooth ; palpi suberect, with a thick fringe of hairs anteriorly ; 

 thorax and abdomen moderately stout. 



This genus, or possibly only subgenus, is very close to Par- 

 nassius, from which it differs in the venation of the fore wing. 

 In Hypermnestra veins 6, 7, 10 and 11 in the fore wing are closely 

 grouped together and emitted near the upper apex of cell, the 

 discoidal cell itself is proportionately narrower and the middle 

 discocellular is obliquely placed. The chief difference, however, 

 between the two genera is in the shape of the club of the 

 antennae. In Parnassius this is elongate, gradual and rounded ; 

 in Hypermnestra short, abrupt and flattened. 



569. Hypermnestra helios, Xickerl (Ismene), Stett. ent. Zeit. 1846, 



p. 208 ; Menetries, Cat. Mus. Petr., Lep. i, 1855, p. 7. 

 Doritis ismene, Herr.-Schiiff. Schmett. Eur. vi, 1851, p. 35. 

 Hvpernmestra helios, var. maxima, Gr.-Grshim. Rom. Mem. iv, 



1890, p. 141. 

 Parnassius balucha, Moore, A. M. N. H. (7) xviii, 1906, p. 47. 



c? . Upperside : white, with a slight cream-yellow tint. Fore 

 wing : base densely, costal margin lightly, irrorated with black 

 scales ; cell with a transverse black median and a black apical 



K2 



