LETHE. 73 



The forms of Lethe are very numerously represented within our 

 limits. " They are for the most part brown on the upperside, 

 often with a prominent white bar on the fore wing, the underside 

 being always ocellated, often richly variegated" (de Niceville). 



3 2 • Fore wing triangular, generally short ; costa more or less 

 arched, sometimes strongly curved towards the apex : termen 

 straight, concave or oblique, never convex ; dorsum straight or 

 slightly convex ; cell not quite half length of wing ; discocellulars 

 rather variable, upper two sometimes oblique, when the upper 

 apex of the cell becomes rounded ; typically, however, upper dis- 

 cocellulars very short, middle longer, somewhat concave, lower 

 long, slightly oblique ; veins 10 and 11 from a little before apex 

 of cell ; 1 2 swollen at base. Hind wing oval ; termen strongly 

 arched, scalloped, often caudate or dentate at apex of vein 4 ; cell 

 less than half length of wing ; discocellulars very oblique ; vein 3 

 typically from apex of cell, very often from before apex, rarely 

 stalked with 4. Antennae under half length of fore wing ; club 

 distinct but gradual ; palpi long, anteriorly fringed with porrect 

 hairs, third joint short, slender, acute at apex ; eyes hairy ; inter- 

 mediate and posterior femora scaled, hairy beneath. Males 

 typically without secondary sexual characters, which are present, 

 however, in a large number of the forms. These sex-marks con- 

 sist of patches of specialized scales with or without overlying tufts 

 of long hair, as in Mycalesis, and occur both on fore and hind 

 wings, on fore wing only, or, in one aberrant form, on the hind 

 wing only. 



Although a certain amount of structural variation exists in this 

 extensive genus, satisfactory characters for the arrangement of 

 the numerous Indian forms under more than one genus seem to 

 be lacking. 



Key to the forms of Lethe. 



A. "Wings without an}' secondary sex-marks. 



a. Veins 3 and 4 of hind wing from apex of cell, 

 or stalked. 

 a'. (5 1 without, 2 with an oblique discal white 

 band, or series of white spots on fore wing. 

 a 1 . Some of the ocelli on the underside of the 

 hind wing with their centres disinte- 

 grated. 

 a 3 . Apical ocellus on underside of hind 

 wing largest. 

 « 4 . Basal half of hind wing on underside 

 brownish black, with a conspicuous 

 pale or purplish transverse straight 

 line. 

 a\ <$ with two prominent preapical 

 white spots ; 2 Wli]1 a broad 

 discal oblique white band on 



upperside of fore wing L. europa, p. 77. 



b 5 . $ unknown ; $ with a broad dis- 

 cal oblique bright ochraceous band 

 on upperside of fore wing L. tamuna, p. 78. 



