NYMPH ALIN^. 187 



that the swiftest and most active, and very many of the largest and 

 most splendidly-coloured, butterflies belong. Such conspicuous and 

 familiar forms as the Fritillaries, Vancssce, and Apaturce of Europe 

 are replaced or accompanied in the warmer parts of the world by very 

 numerous allies of far greater size, brilliancy, and speed. Every 

 variety of outline, pattern, and coloration is to be found in this group, 

 which may be said to culminate in the magnificent genera Morpho of 

 South America and T/icmviantis of the Oriental Region, — butterflies 

 whose beauty and great size are unequalled except in the groups 

 Brassolince and Papilionincv. These giants among butterflies are 

 not, however, remarkable for swift flight, the palm for speed being 

 assignable to the more powerfully-built allies of Apatura, such 

 as the Old-World genus Char axes and the American Prepona and 

 Agrias. 



Though exceedingly active and alert, nearly all the NymphalinoG 

 have the habit of keeping about some spot of limited extent, even the 

 swiftest of them, after darting away at a speed which the eye can 

 hardly follow, returning again and again to the same place, and often 

 to the very same favourite flower or twig. 



Of the twenty genera known to occur in South Africa, none is 

 endemic, but nine are limited in range to the Ethiopian Region, 

 viz., Laclmoptera, Crenis, Ear alia, Pseudacraia, Eitrypliene, Euphcedra, 

 Hamanumida, Harma, and Godartia. All the remaining genera 

 extend through the Ethiopian Region, and have a more or less 

 extensive range beyond it, viz., Uicrema in Central and South 

 America ; Precis, Salamis, Eurytela, and Ilypanis over much of the 

 Oriental Region ; while Beptis and Charaxes add to that range 

 Southern Europe and Australia ; and Atellcc, Australia and some of the 

 groups of the Pacific Islands ; Junonia and Diadema extending over 

 yet wider regions, omitting Europe, but including a great part of 

 America ; and Pyrameis being truly cosmopolitan. 



The genus best represented in South Africa is Charaxes (fifteen 

 species), and next to it Precis (twelve species). Crenis and Pseudacrcea 

 have each four representatives ; Junonia, Ncptis, and Euralia, three ; 

 Atella, Eicrema, Salamis, and Eurytela, two ; and the remaining nine 

 genera one species only. 



The NymplialincB afford some of the most striking cases of mimicry 

 yet discovered among butterflies. The genera Limenitis, Hestina, and 

 Diadema include several very exact copies of sundry species of Danais 

 and Euplcea ; but Eurcdia and Pscudacrma seem really to depend for 

 their existence upon accurately mimicking the species of Amauris and 

 certain Acrmince. Some of these cases have been already mentioned 

 above, and will again be referred to under the Nymphaline genera in 

 question. 



