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A NOTE ON THE SPECIES OF THE GENUS MYCALESIS 

 (LEPIDOPTERA), OCCUEEING WITHIN INDIAN LIMITS. 



{With four Pieties.) 



BY 



Lt.-Colonel W. H. Evans, E.E. 



1. Having found it impossible to classify satisfactorily the species of the Galy- 

 sisme and Samanta groups of the genus Mycalesis, I asked my friends to try and 

 assemble some material for me. Led by the late Messrs. Hannyngton from Coorg 

 and Ellis from Burma, by General Tytler from Manipur, Mr. Mackwood from 

 Ceylon and followed by several others, my appeal met with a generous response 

 and before the war I had accumulated a very considerable amount of material 

 for investigation. I dissected the genitalia of about 400 males and had prepared 

 the accompanying plates showing venation, primary and secondary sexual 

 characters. Unfortunately the war broke off my investigations and it has been 

 a little difficult to pick up the threads again after an interval of 5i years. 



2. Up to the present the so-called genus Mycalesis contains the following 

 " genera "or " sub- genera " and species described from Indian limits ; the first 

 named species is the " type " in each case. 



(1) Virapa ; anaxias ; adamsoni. 



(2) Samundra ; anaxioides. 



(3) Oarer is ; sanatana. 



(4) Sadarga ; gotama. 



(5) Suralaya ; orseis. 



(6) Mydosama ; fuscum. 



(7) Caly sisme ; 7nineus ; per sens ; perseoides ; subdita ; visala ; rama; evansii . 



(8) Myrtilus ; mystes. 



(9) Telinga ; adolphei ; oculus. 



(10) Culapa ; mnasides. 



(11) Pachama ; mestra ; suavolens. 



(12) Samanta ; malsara ; watsoni ; nicotia ; mAsenus ; heri, 



(13) Kabanda ; malsarida. 



(14) Nissanga ; patnia. 



(15) Loesa ; oroatis. 



Except that the 3 last named species under Samanta appertain rather to Pa- 

 chama, the above groups, which are based on the venation and the secondary 

 sexual characters, form a very natural arrangement. I think, however, that the 

 employment of subgenera is now generally considered undesirable. For the 

 purpose of classifying the species in the genus, the first step needed is a careful 

 analysis of all the features at all stages ; the next step is the arrangement of the 

 species in as natural an order as is possible ; the final step is the production of a 

 key, whereby the species fall into certain groups, which can be designated by 

 letters, numbers or Latin or English names. We all realise that any linear arrange- 

 ment is bound to be unsatisfactory, as it is opposed to the whole system of evolu- 

 tion, but it is the only thing to be done. I consider that all the species mentioned 

 above should be included under one genus, which may be called Mycalesis for 

 the present, though eventually this name will have to be restricted to the African 

 species with naked eyes and culapa used for the hairy-eyed Asiatic species. 

 The genus Orsotricena has sometimes been included under Mycalesis, but its 

 smooth eyes, venation, primary and secondary sexual characters, as well as its 

 facies, entitled it to full generic rank, which Bingham very rightly accorded it. 



3. The results of my investigations are embodied in the key at the end, where 

 the outstanding features of each species and race are summarised. Most of these 



