FAMILY III 



THE NYMPHS 



Family Nymphalidae (Nym-phal'i-dae) 



The family Nymphalidae, or Nymphs, includes chiefly but- 

 terflies of medium or large size ; but a few of the species are 



small. 



This family is the first of a 

 series of four families in which 

 the front legs are very greatly 

 reduced in size in both sexes. 

 So great is the reduction that 

 these legs cannot be used for 

 walking, but are folded on the 

 breast like a tippet. 



The nymphs can be distin- 

 guished from the other three 

 families of four-footed butterflies 

 as follows : the veins of the fore 

 wings are not greatly swollen at 

 the base as in the meadow- 

 browns ; the fore wings are not 

 so long and narrow as in the 

 heliconians ; and the antenna; do not appear to be naked as 

 in the milkweed butterflies. 



The venation of the wings of a characteristic species is 

 shown in Figure 30. 



102 



Fig. 30. — Venation of the wings 

 of Basilarchia aslyanax. 



