RURALIDES. 808 



internal nervure ; hindwings channeled on basal half to receive the 

 abdomen, without a precostal nervure, the costal nervure running nearly 

 to the end of the costal margin ; fore tarsi of cf armed abundantly beneath 

 and at tip with spines . . . . . . . . Ruralid.^ (Lycenid/b). 



The superfamily is generally known as the Lycaenides, a name 

 derived from the Fabrician Lycaena, but it is puzzling to understand 

 why the much older Linnean name has been passed over. As already 

 noted (antea, p. 82), Linne, in 1758, united (Syst. Nat., 10th ed., pp. 

 482 et seq.) the " hairstreaks," "blues," "coppers," and "skippers," 

 under the name Plebeii, separating, however, the three first-named 

 sections as Rurales from the "skippers," which he called Urbicolae. 

 Rurales, therefore, is the oldest name under which the superfamily, we 

 are now considering, was first separated from the allied superfamilies ; 

 we, therefore, retain the superfamily name Buralides. Linne's Rurales 

 comprised the following species : — 



Plebeii. — Rurales — Papilio Plebeius Buralis cupido, betulae, pruni, quercus, 

 marsyas, thamyras, avion, argus, argiolus, rubi, pJiilocles, temantes, athemon, 

 caricae, phereolus, lysippus and virgaureae. 



Scopoli, Fabricius, Borkhausen, Haworth, and others of the early 

 authors, maintained this group name, but the heterogeneous nature of 

 the group was detected by various writers, including Schiffermuller 

 and Denis, Borkhausen, Latreille, Fabricius, etc. In 1763, their 

 subsequent division was foreshadowed by Scopoli (Ent. Carniolica, 

 p. 175). He strangely uses the specific names, in a more or less 

 generic form, and the species as varieties, thus : — 

 Rurales. 



Papilio Pruni — type*, var. 1, var. 2. 



Papilio Rubi. 



Papilio Argus — arion, argus, argiolus, idas, coridon, alexis (each with 

 several subvarieties) . 



Papilio Virgaurea — typef, form a major. 



It will be observed that Argus here is used in quite a generic form. 

 It is subdivided, and described by means of a series of seven diagnoses, 

 the first a general diagnosis, the remainder agreeing with the six 

 species afterwards described at length. The want of precision as to 

 varieties, species, and the greater divisions as here exhibited is most 

 interestiug. 



In 1775, Schiffermiiller and Denis (Scfanett. Wien., pp. 180-6, 

 et seq.) make this " Group II" of their system, and define it as having 

 " woodlouse-shaped larvae." The group is subdivided into the follow- 

 ing sections : — 



Rutili. — Larvae oblongoscutatee ; imagines of a glittering-gold colour — 

 virgaureae, hippothoe, chryseis, helle, phlaeas, xantlie, circe. 



Polyophthalmi. — Larvae gibboscutatae ; imagines with many-ocellated spots — 

 endymion, daphnis, arion, alcon, acis, damon, damaetas, argiolus, alsus, corydon, 

 adonis, alexis, agestis, argus, aegon, hylas, battus, amyntas. 



Subcaudati. — Larvae depressoscutatae ; imagines short-tailed — rubi, betulae, 

 quercus, pruni, spini. 



We may here note that Borkhausen (Sys. Bearb., L, pp. 134 et seq.) 

 divides his Horde V, Plebeh '-Rurales, into the same three groups (or 

 families as he terms them). 



* "Type" possibly — iv -album ; " var. 1 " possibly = ilici$ ; " var. 2 " possibly = 

 pruni. 



t " Type " = virgaureae ; form a major possibly = hippothoe. 



