Species of Indo- Malay an Ileterocera. 81 



Family Erebiidae. 



We cannot believe that the genus Arg'iva aul its allies can 

 belong to the family Catocalicl£e. It seems to us i\vAi Arc/iva 

 has no relation -whatever to the genus Catocala; their struc- 

 ture is completely different ; they have enormous black 

 densely hairy extensile organs (" coremata '') upon the dorsal 

 surface of tlie tegumen, almost hiding the armature of the 

 delicate valves. These alone confirm, by the absence of the 

 large scaptilum of Catocala, that the relationsliip is mistaken. 

 PI. X. fig. 20 shows the genitalia of Argiva hieroglyphica 

 (the type of Argiva), fig. 21 that of fraxini, Linn, (the tyj)e 

 of Catocala), copied from Pierce's 'Genitalia of British 

 Noctuidfe/ fig. 23 that of the common European species, 

 nupta, Linn. ; note the entire absence of the eoremata and 

 the asymmetry of mipta, which is usual in Catocala and its 

 relatives. 



The habits of life of such of the species as are known to 

 me are entirely different to those of the Catocalidse ; they are 

 crepuscular and mostly cave-dwellers, very quick and sharp 

 in their short flight?, the males darting forwards and attack- 

 ing those that pass, much after the manner of some of the 

 butterflies of the family Nymphalidpe. This is particularly 

 the case with Patula macrops ; 1 have watched them in the 

 caves of the Island of Elephanta in the Bombay Harbour. 



Genus Argiva, Hiibner. 



The genitalia of the different forms of Argiva are very 

 similar ; the differences are so slight, they niay arise from 

 mounting. I give the figure of the costa of A. hiero- 

 glyphica, the type of the genus (text-fig. 15). There appears 

 to be no difference in any of the mounts except the " costa," 

 which varies slightly under different names. 



Argiva lunaris. 



Bocann lunaris $, Walker, xxxi. 57 (1864). 



Nyctipas hieroghjplnca, Hampson (part.)j filial, xii. p. 275 (1913). 



Hah. Celebes, Gilolo. 



A perfectly distinct species, sexes alike. I have both 

 sexes from N. Celebes and Gilolo (text-fig. ]8). 



Ann. ii- Mag, N. Hist. Ser. 9. Vol ii. 6 



