THYRIDIDAE OF AFRICA AND ITS ISLANDS 5 



Koyal de l'Afrique Central, Tervuren; Dr R. Carcasson, formerly National Museum, 

 Nairobi; Mr H. Clench, Carnegie Museum, Pittsburgh; The Director, Naturhistoriska 

 Riksmuseum, Stockholm; The Director, Institut de Recherches Scientifiques, a 

 Madagascar, Tananarive; Dr G. Friese, Deutsches Entomologisches Institut, 

 Berlin; Dr I. Groth, Zoologisches Institut der Universitat Greifswald; Dr H. J. 

 Hannemann, Institut fiir Spezielle Zoologie und Zoologisches Museum, Berlin; Dr 

 A. J. Hesse, South African Museum, Cape Town; Dr R. Hodges, Department of 

 Agriculture, Washington; Dr F. Kasy, Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna; Dr E. 

 Pinhey, National Museum, Bulawayo; Dr F. Rindge, American Museum of Natural 

 History, New York; Mr I. A. D. Robertson, Department of Agriculture, Tanzania; 

 Dr G. Roedeck, University of Colorado Museum, Colorado; Dr H. Schroder, 

 Natur-Museum Senckenberg, Frankfurt a. M. ; Mr E. Taylor, University Museum, 

 Oxford; Dr L. Vari, Transvaal Museum, Pretoria; Dr P. Viette, Museum National 

 d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris. 



I am also grateful to my colleagues, Mr A. Watson, Dr I. W. B. Nye, Mr D. S. 

 Fletcher and Dr K. Sattler of the Department of Entomology and to Dr E. Launert 

 and Dr N. Robson of the Department of Botany, for their comments and advice. 

 The drawings are by Mr M. Shaffer, to whom I am indebted for technical assistance. 

 The photographs were mostly taken by the Photographic Department of this 

 Museum; a few were taken by Mr D. J. Carter or myself, these are indicated in 

 the legends. Mr Carter also took some of the Stereoscan photographs, the others 

 being taken by Dr K. Sattler. 



MORPHOLOGY OF THE THYRIDIDAE 



In the following section the condition of certain morphological characters found 

 in most species in the family is compared with the various modifications found in 

 other species in the family. At the end of the section the diagnostic characters of 

 the family are given. 



Head (Text-figs 1-3; PI. 24, figs 127-129). Modifications of the frons are found 

 in very few species and these modifications are mostly small compared with those 

 occurring in other families of Lepidoptera. In some species of Chrysotypus the frons 

 is bulbous, projecting slightly between the eyes. This condition is found in a few 

 other genera but only N . fuliginea (Text-fig. 1 ; PI. 24, figs 127, 129) has a prominent 

 process on the frons, as for example in the Phycitinae (Whalley, 1966 : 272). In 

 species of the genus Mathoris the fronto-clypeal region is short and the proboscis 

 arises anteriorly on the head, instead of in the more usual antero-ventral position. 

 This anterior origin of the proboscis is also found in Sinecalca insolita (p. 173) where 

 the fronto-clypeal region is short and narrow and the eyes practically meet in the 

 mid-line, being separated only by the small plate bearing the reduced proboscis. 

 In all species, except Mathoris magica (Text-fig. 3), the eyes are approximately round 

 when viewed laterally. In M. magica the eyes are posteriorly truncate, or slightly 

 reniform when viewed laterally. In some species of Striglina, interfacetal hairs 

 (PI. 24, fig. 130) are present between the ommatidia of the eyes but these hairs are 

 not found in species in other genera of African Thyrididae. The proboscis is not 

 scaled but no detailed study of its structure was made, although the presence or 



