BUTTERFLIES. 153 



FAMILY III. Lyccemdce. 



Front legs perfect in the female ; the front tarsi more or less 

 imperfect in the male; pupa attached by the tail, and a belt 

 round the body ; larva short and broad. 



These are insects of small size and delicate structure, and 

 various shades of blue, brown, or red preponderate in their colora- 

 tion. Most of the genera are of great extent, and the family has 

 not yet been satisfactorily divided into sub-families. 



Miletus Symethus, 1 Cram., a common East Indian species, 

 measures about an inch and a half across the wings, which are 

 brown, with a large white spot in the middle of the fore wings. 

 This butterfly is remarkable for having very thick legs, and is 

 said to be frequently found in ants' nests, a circumstance which 

 need no longer puzzle us, as it has lately been discovered that the 

 larvae of several Lyccenidce exude a liquid of which ants are very 

 fond. 



Axiocerces, Hiibn., is a genus with more or less dentated wings ; 

 the species are brown, with red or tawny markings, and are 

 especially numerous in South Africa. This genus replaces Lyccena 

 in Africa, for the latter is not met with south of the Mediterranean 

 region. 



The genus Lycana, Fabr., to which we have just alluded, in- 

 cludes the beautiful coppery-red butterflies known to all collectors 

 as " Coppers." Some of the European species are shot with 

 purple ; but this is not the case with C. Flrganrece, Linn., which 

 is one of the most brilliant species, and is not uncommon on the 

 Continent in many places, though a doubtful species in England. 



The small genus Thestor is black and orange above, and the hind 

 wings are frequently green beneath, as in the typical species, T. 

 Ballus, Fabr., which is not uncommon in the Mediterranean region. 



Polyommatus, Latr., in which the small blue butterflies which 

 frequent meadows and heaths may be placed, is a very extensive 

 genus; but the species are nearly all of some shade of blue or 

 brown. Frequently the male is blue, and the female brown. A 

 row of red spots often runs round all or part of the wings ; and 

 the under surface is usually grey or brown, and marked with 

 numerous black spots surrounded with white. In one group of 

 the genus, represented in Britain by P. Bodicm, Linn., which is 



1 It is now believed that the statement that it is found in ants' nests 

 applies to some other Lepidopterous insect. 



