ME. H. W. BATES — CATALO&TJE OF EETCINID^. 369 



south-eastern States, and three on the western side of the Sierra 

 Nevada) belong to Tropical American genera, of a subfamily which 

 is peculiar to the New "World. The family appears to be most 

 numerous and flourishing in the equatorial zone, diminishing in 

 the number of its representatives as we approach either tropic ; 

 and, with very few exceptions, the species are confined to the shades 

 of the great forest which covers the lower levels of nearly the 

 whole of this vast region. I collected, myself, 370 species on the 

 banks of the Amazons, or three-fifths of the total number of 

 known species. The family is remarkable for the wonderful di- 

 versity of form and colouring which it presents ; and the habits of 

 the species are almost equally varied. Some are of very slow, lazy 

 flight, whilst others are excessively rapid in their movements. It 

 may be stated, however, as a universal rule, that their flight is 

 short, never exhibiting the sustained motion which is charac- 

 teristic of the Nymphalidse, Satyridse, and other superior families 

 of butterflies, A large number of genera have the habit of settling 

 on the underside of leaves near the ground, extending their wings 

 flat on the leaf. In many genera, on the contrary, the position 

 of the wings in repose is vertical ; and a few species settle on the 

 upper surface of leaves with the wings half elevated. As these dif- 

 ferences are constant in several large genera, it might be thought 

 that they ofiered a clue to a natural classification of the family — an 

 object of difficult attainment, if we employ structural characters 

 only ; but there are too many exceptions to the rule to render it 

 of any use for this purpose. Thus the Nymphidia and Lemoniades 

 belong to those genera which extend their wings in repose, but 

 Lemonias, Selise, and Molela hold them partially elevated, and IJ. 

 zygia and allies quite vertical ; similar exceptions occur in Cliaris, 

 Mesosemia and others. Yery few species frequent flowers. 



I made a great number of dissections of Erycinidse from fresh 

 specimens whilst in South America, and prepared drawings of 

 their wing-neuration, palpi, and legs, with a view to discovering 

 sure indications of the natural relationships of the species and 

 genera. Previously the species had been grouped chiefly from 

 similarity of shape, colour, pattern, and general aspect; but 

 something more definite was wanted, as the style of colora- 

 tion changes abruptly in allied species in some genera, and 

 very often the sexes are of totally different colours and pat- 

 terns. After many abortive trials I have found the wing-neura- 

 tion, notwithstanding the frequent anomalous exceptions which 

 it presents, to afford the best characters for primary divivions. 



