ADOP.EA. 19 



one, frequently more than twice as long as it. HIND-WING : 

 usually rather elongate, but never with a conspicuous tail or 

 tooth ; vein 5 very rarely developed. 



The male is frequently furnished with a discal stigma on the 

 fore-wing, and never with a costal fold. Both pairs of spurs 

 are invariably present on the hind tibiae, and there never is a 

 tuft of hair on the tibiae in the male. The epiphysis on the fore 

 tibiae is invariably present. 



This group is of world-wide distribution; the South American 

 forms, however, are comparatively few. 



The majority of the species, when sunning themselves on a 

 leaf, depress their hind-wings, and elevate their fore-wings, an 

 attitude peculiar to this section. When in a complete state of 

 repose, both pairs of wings are raised till they meet over the 

 back. ( Watson.) 



This section includes all the British tawny Skippers except 

 Pamphila palcemon, and in all our species the black stripe of 

 raised scales on the fore-wings of the males is more or less 

 conspicuous. 



GENUS ADOP^A. 



) pt. Hiibner, Verz. bek. Schmett. p. 1 13 (1816). 

 ^ Billberg, Enum. Ins. p. 81 (1820); Watson, Proc. 

 Zool. Soc. Lond. 1893, p. 98. 



We have three British species belonging to this genus, two of 

 which are very local with us. The name Thymelicus is now 

 restricted to a different genus, the type of which is the West 

 Indian T. vibex, Hiibner. The type of Adopcea is A. thaumas 

 (Hufnagel), a species figured by Barbut under the name of 

 Urbicola comma. As, however, A. thaumas is not a Linnean 

 species, it cannot be allowed to be the type of Urbicola, and 

 we are therefore spared the immediate necessity of considering 



C 2 



