86 



month of March, when they feed again on the young and tender shoots of 

 grass. In June they arrive at their full growth, and change to chrysalides 

 about the middle of the same month." 



Genus XIII.— HIPPARCHIA. 



Fabricius, 



Hippar'chia, from the Greek, signifying the command of the cavalry, pro- 

 bably given in consequence of the species being of the brown colour so 

 common amongst horses. 



The name Hipparchia was bestowed upon the genus by Pabricius in 1807 ; 

 and the name Satyrus by Latreille in 1810. Saty'rus, a Satyr, a rustic deity, 

 half man, and half goat. Yirg. Eel. Y. 73. 



The species are of various shades of brown, and generally have eye-like 

 spots on one or both pair of wings. The caterpillars are pisciform, or some- 

 what like a fish, that is, attenuated behind, the tail ending in a small fork ; 

 in general they are pubescent but without spines : the head is more or less 

 rounded, and sometimes heart-shaped. 



It cannot create surprise that such a very large genus has been split into 

 several. Kirby in his 1871 " Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera" gives sixty. 

 For our British species I shall retain three — Melanargia, Hipparchia, and 

 Erebia. Hipparchia though, I shall divide into five sub-genera or sections — 

 Lasiommata for the hairy-eyed species JEgeria and Megara ; Hipparchia for 

 the largest species, Semele; Satyrus for Janira, and Tithonus; Enodia for 

 Hyperanthus, and Ccenonympha for the light brown species — Typhon and 

 Pamphilus. The first corresponds to the section Vicicoles, of M. Duponchel, 

 the second to his Bupicoles, the third to his Herbioles, the fourth to his 

 RamicoleSy the fifth to his Bumicoles. Melanargia corresponds to his Grami- 

 nicoles, and Erebia to his Alpicoles. 



Sub-Genus LASIOMMATA. 

 Westwood. 



This sub-genus is at once distinguished from the rest by having the eyes 

 thickly clothed with hairs, in addition to which the palpi are very slender. 

 The antennas are straight, distinctly annulated with black and white, and 

 club pyriform. Sixteen species are known, two of them occurring in Britain. 

 All of them are confined to Europe, Asia, and the north of Africa. This 

 sub-genus corresponds with the first section of Hipparchia, of Curtis and 

 Stephens, and contains Hubner's two groups, Pararge and Dira. 



