NISONIADIDI. 255 



west Norway — Naes Vaerk, Christiania, Odalen, Drammen, Fagernaes-im-Amdal, 

 Valders (Siebke), Disenaen (Standen), Fredrikstad, Hvalberne, Sireosen, Siredal, 

 Ose, Valle, Larkollen, Roikenoiken (Strand), Hunneberg (Lampa), Saeterstoen 

 (Chapman), Sweden — Scania, Helsingland (Lampa), Lapland, Gottland, Ostro- 

 gothland (Zetterstedt). Spain: near Granada (Staudinger), Aragon — Mont Seny 

 (Nicholl), Cantabrian mountains — Puerto de Pajares (Chapman), Castile — Alsasua 

 (Oberthur), Albarracin district — Losillo, Valley de Masegar, Moscardon (Zapater), 

 Catalonia — Montserrat (Standen). Switzerland: throughout the lowlands, and 

 often common up to 6000 feet, going singly up to 7000 feet (Frey) — in the Riedt, 

 near Wallisellen (Dietrich), Martigny, Branson, Sepey, Gryon, Saillon, Sion, Sierre, 

 Grand Ferrex (Favre), Aigle (Sloper), Macolin (Lowe), Veytaux, Berisal, etc. 

 (Wheeler), Berne (Flemyng), Weissenburg (Huguenin), the Juras — St. Georges, etc. 

 (Wheeler), the Gemmi, at 5300 feet (Speyer), Montreux to Aigle (Barraud), 

 near Geneva (Muschamp), Saas-Fee, Simplon (Blachier), Lucerne (Lang), 

 Andermatt (Jones). Turkey : Port Baklar (Walker), Crete (Mathew). 



Tribe : Nisoniadidi. 

 This tribe is closely allied to the Erynnid species of the last tribe, 

 viz., Erymiis alceae, E. altheae and E. lavaterae. Under the name 

 Thanaos-, Watson describes (Proe. Zool. Soc. Land., 1893, p. 69) the 

 tribe as follows : 



Antennae with club moderate, more or less bent into a curve, bluntly pointed. 

 Palpi porrect ; second joint laxly clothed ; third joint almost concealed, bluntly 

 conical. Forewing with inner margin longer than outer margin ; male with a 

 costal fold ; cell of forewing less than two-thirds the length of costa ; discocellulars 

 slightly inwardly oblique, the lower the longer ; nervure 3 shortly before the end of 

 cell ; nervure 2 slightly nearer to base of wing than to end of cell. Hind wing with 

 outer margin evenly rounded ; nervure 7 very close to end of cell ; discocellulars 

 and nervure 5 faint ; nervure 3 immediately before end of cell ; nervure 2 almost 

 equidistant from end of cell and base of wing. Hind tibiae fringed with two pairs 

 of spines, the upper pair minute. 



The two genera usually included in the tribe are — (1) Nisoniades 

 (type tages), in which the $ has a costal fold, and (2) Thanaos (type 

 marloyi), in which the $ is without the costal fold, but we have 

 already noted (antea, p. 85) that Thanaos is really a synonym of 

 Nisoniades, both having tages for type. Under the title Thanaos, 

 Bdv., Scudder gives a very complete diagnosis of the American 

 forms in all their stages (Butts. New England, ii., pp. 1445-1449), 

 much too extended to be repeated in detail here. Among his 

 general remarks, however, are many worthy of attention. He observes 

 that "the butterflies are of moderate size for Hesperiines, have ampler 

 wings than any other genera, excepting those immediately contiguous, 

 and the scales seem to be more feebly attached, since the wings are 

 very easily abraded. The bunch of short conical filaments w T hich 

 nearly fills the opening of the prothoracic spiracles, can be protruded 

 to a considerable distance, so as to form a prominent tubercle-like 

 swelling, wbich has not been noted in other Hesperiine genera." 



Rambur was the first to notice the asymmetrical development of the 

 abdominal appendage of the $ of Nisoniades tages. Scudder says that 

 the same asymmetry is found in some of the neighbouring genera — 

 Achlyodes, etc., and doubtless in some other groups (as it has been 

 detected in a Heliconian). In an inconspicuous degree it has been 

 observed in some other Urbicolids. The asymmetry, Scudder notes, is 

 not only found in the lateral valves, which are sometimes of widely 

 disproportionate size, and serve well, also, to distinguish the different 

 species, but often also above, in the central hook, the posterior view of 

 which shows it to be sometimes remarkably lopsided. The asym- 

 metrical parts are entirely concealed by scales. The upper organ is 



