216 JOURNAL, BOMBAY NATURAL HIST. SOCIETY, Vol. XXVIl. 



subfamily of it as Watson suggested and as has actually been done by Swinhoe 

 va.LepidopteraIndica,th.e\a,tQst^orkon Indian Skippers and Indian butterflies 

 generally) is confined to Asia, Africa and Australasia ; Ismene and Bihasis have 

 not been recorded out of Asiatic hmits ; Hasora is chiefly Malayan and extends 

 as far as Australia ; Badamia also extends to that continent ; Bhopalocampta is 

 a very large genus almost entirely confined to Africa, only two or three species 

 being found within Asiatic Hmits. 



In Section II of the PampUlince, the genus Gehenna has only two species, one 

 from Borneo, one from Sumatra ; Ancistroides, in similar case, is confined to 

 islands of the Malay Archipelago ; Zela, Zampa, Eetion are Malayan ; Mimas 

 from New Guinea ; Adopcea is northern, Holarctic. Extra information given 

 is that Taractrocera, Telicota extend to the Australasian region ; Ampittia, Baoris, 

 Baracus to Africa ; Padraona to AustraUa, doubtfully to Madagascar and S. 

 America ; Adopcea, Erynnis are Holarctic. 



Section I : aU the genera, with the exception of Pamphila, Heteropterus> 

 are Asiatic ; the former being European, the latter Holarctic. Heteropterus, 

 Isoteinon, Ge, Idmon, Sepa, Zea, Apostictoptenis have not been recorded from 

 Indian limits. Isoteinon, Heteropterus are confined to Northern x4.sia ; Ge, Idmon, 

 Zea, Sepa are from Malacca and Sumatra ; Apostictopterus has a single species 

 found in China. 



Watson's subfamily of Hesperiince is divisible into two quite natural parts, one 

 consisting of those insects that keep their wings erect in repose, the other con- 

 taining the species that keep them open and stretched horizontally out. 



His PampMlince can be at once divided into two quite natural groups, one 

 consisting of Sections I and II, the other of Section III as has already been 

 mentioned by him. 



The latest work on the Hesperiidce, from the pen of Colonel C. Swinhoe, has 

 appeared comparatively recently as the chmax to the truly monumental Lepi- 

 doptera Indica, originally started by Moore more than twenty years ago. It 

 occupies part of volume IX and the whole of volume X and is accompanied 

 by fine, coloured plates in which are depicted all the butterflies described with 

 a goodly number of then caterpiUers and chrysahdes. The author has erected 

 twelve new subfamilies but gives no keys to them. These are : — ■ 

 Ismeneinse, Pamphilinse, Matapinee, 



Achalarinse, Astictopterinse, Notocryptinse, 



Celsenorrhinse Suastinse, Plastingiinse, 



Hesperiinse, Erionotinse, Erynninee. 



In this arrangement he restricts the subfamily Hesperiince of Watson to the 

 genera Garcharodus, Gomalia, Hesperia and Thanaos, in which the insects do 

 not spread their wings horizontally when at rest ; dividing those that do so rest 

 into Aclialarince and Celcenorrhince. He finaUy divides off Section III of Watson's 

 PampMlince as the subfamily Ismeneince and erects eight subfamihes for Sec- 

 tions I and II. These two sections Watson himself has allowed to be purely 

 artificial as has been seen above, whereas Swinhoe beUeves his subfamilies to be 

 fairly natural and, therefore, a better arrangement. 



Based upon certain knowledge of the earher stages of members of all of these, 

 the probabilities are that Swinhoe' s behef is correct ; but this knowledge also 

 suggests that certain alterations therem must be made. To start with, there- 

 fore, a more natural sequence of the above subfamilies is suggested as follows : — 

 Achalarinaj, Erynninse, Erionotinee, 



Celsenorrhin^, Plastingiinse, Matapinge, 



Hesperiinse, Suastinse, Astictopterinse, 



Ismeneinse, Pamphilina?, Notocryptinse, 



with the first two subfamilies in which the insects sit with wings horizontally 

 spread in natural sequence to the New World Pyrrhopygince. Then follow all 



