298 



BKITISH BUTTERFLIES . 



Padraona, Moore 



dara, Koll. 

 Gegenes, Hiibn. 



nostrodamus, Fab. 

 Baoris, Moore 



zelleri, Led. 



? thyone, Leech 



pellueida, Murr. 



jansonis, Butl. 

 Parnara, Moore 



bada, Moore 



guttatus, Brem. 

 Chapra, Moore 



mathias, Fab. 



alcides, H.-Sch. 



var. ahriman, Chr. 

 coerulescens. Mab. 

 Ismenid^;. 

 ismenin^e. 

 ismenidi. 



Ismene, Swains, 

 aquilina, Spr. 

 ? jankowskii, Obth. 

 Hasora, Moore 

 anura, Nicev. 

 Rhopalocampta, Wailgrn. 

 benjamini, Guer. 



Superfamily II : Ruralides. 



The " Coppers," " Blues," and " Hairstreaks," as one of the chief 

 groups of this superfamily is popularly called, are closely united by 

 marked oval, larval, pupal, and imaginal characters, and, in their 

 wider relations, are found to show considerable connection with 

 the other main group, the Erycinids. The earlier authors 

 referred our only European species of the latter group, Hamearis 

 (Nemeobius) lucina, on account of its superficial resemblance to 

 the Melitaeas, to Linne's Hamadryades, but its structural details 

 lead one to include it among the Erycinids (also known as 

 Lemoniids and Riodinids), a family particularly abundant in 

 tropical America, but with some species in North America and the 

 Malay region. Scudder has worked out, in considerable detail, the 

 similarities and the differences of the two groups under the name 

 Lycaenidae, treating these as subfamilies, Lemoniinae and Lycaeninae. 

 He says (Butts, of New England, ii., p. 771) : "In the perfect stage 

 we find important characters common to these two groups, and dis- 

 tinguishing them from the rest of the butterfly world. Their small 

 size and delicate structure would at once be remarked ; the front of the 

 head between the eyes is much narrower than high, which is not true 

 of any other group ; the eyes are not in the least prominent, they are 

 notched on the inner margin above to give room for the antennal 

 sockets, which the narrowness of the head between the eyes here 

 renders necessary. As all these are characters which concern the 

 fundamental structure of the head, and are not found elsewhere, they 

 must be regarded as of considerable taxonomic weight. The antennas, 

 including the club, are invariably straight, with none of the curves so 

 common elsewhere, and especially in the lower groups. Both of the 

 subfamilies agree with the Nymphalids in tbe slight separation of the 

 meso- and metathorax. The neuration of the wings is extremely 

 simple. The structure of the front legs has been so often insisted 

 upon, that it is not necessary to more than mention it, but it should 

 be borne in mind that the difference between the two subfamilies is 

 comparatively slight, while they both differ from all other butterflies 

 in the broad fact that the front legs of the $ are, and those of the % 

 are not, aborted ; in no other group, excepting in the single aberrant 

 subfamily, Libythdnae (on that account placed here by Bates), are the 

 legs sexually heteromorphous, while here it is universal, though 

 varying in degree. The difference between the two subfamilies is one 

 of degree, the difference between it and other families is one of 

 independent character, Add to this the unique character of the 



