HHOPALO CERA MALAYA \ A. 



Fin. 110.— Posterior lop of Erhnotn thr<tx. 



l-'i<;„ 111.— I *m ami pupa of KriamMla thraj, 

 (From llotvf. it Moore. Cal.Lep. 31 lift. E. 1. 0. ) 



we examine the many aberrant characters possessed 



by the Hespemda it is difficult to refuse them a more 



distinct position than is possessed by any of the 



other families of butterflies. Thns the peculiar and 



diverse positions of the wings in repose have already 



been alluded to (antea, p. 1, note), whilst the generally 



hooked antennae and the frequently chrystaiid form 



of pupation show how close is their relationship to 



the Moths. As Mr. Scudder lias remarked, M Doubtless 



these skippers * first separated from the common stock and 



never developed to a high degree, since they still remain 



by far the lowest of the group, and are in many points more 



closely allied to some of the higher moths than they are to 



any other huttx-rilies." ! 



Amongst the many peculiar habits of these obscure but 



interesting butterflies, is their mode of flight, which in 



Ceylon has been described by the late Dr. Thwaites as not uniform " Some flit about with 



the greatest activity during the very hottest hours of the day f whilst others are somewhat 



moth-like, making their appearance in the early morning or late in the evening."! Mr. P* H. 



Gosse has recorded some curious experiences in breeding these butterflies in Alabama. He 



writes: — (1 1 have bred very many buttertlies, and have universally found them, on first opening 



the dark box in which they have been evolved, perfectly still, and making no attempt to escape 



when touched with the fingers ; but these Skippers formed a singular exception. Before the 

 lid was half raised, all was scuffle and flutter within, the first intimation I had of their birth ; 

 though, as I had examined them every day, I knew by the discoloration of the pupa that the 

 change was near." § Prof. Westwood quotes Mr. Curtis aB mentioning the curious circumstance 

 that old specimens, when alive, have frequently lost one or both of their palpi, an accident he 

 had only observed amongst the Heterocerous Pyralidae. ]| 



The classification of the genera of these obscure butterflies has long been a stumbling- 

 block to systeruatists, but has recently received considerable attention from many excellent 

 lepidoptcrists. The two earliest systems proposed were those of Hiibner and Latreille. That 

 of the first author is uncritical, his eight divisions or families being founded either on the shape 

 or colour-markings of the wings, and is therefore more or less superficial in character. That 

 of Latreille. published in the 'Encyclopedic Methodique,' is much more exhaustive, but based 

 greatly on similar characters to those relies! upon by Hiibner. In 1873 Mr. S. Scudder 

 advocated the partition of the family into two main divisions, to which he applied the names 

 of Hespcridi's anil Aattjci, terms previously used hy Latreille and Hiibner. The chief diagnosis 

 of these divisions is thus given: — "In the Hesprrides the fore wing of the male is always 

 provided with a costal fold where a sort of silky down is concealed ; this feature is often very 



A colloquial name given to the II imperii the, on nccouut of the short, jerking flight of the species, 

 t Trans, Auier. EriU Soc. vi. p, 00 Iln77i. J Moore's Lcp* Ceylou, vol. i. p. 156 (1S81). 



S 1 Letters froiu Alabama.' p- SC. || Intnn1. Mud. Clans. Ins. ii. p* 8(50* 



