t 56 ] 
The dassiiication of the variaus families is based upon 
the structure of the feet, and, in one family, upon the shape of 
the antennae. The genera are classified according to the veins 
of the wings. We give the five families with a few represen- 
tatives of each : 
1. Nymphalidae : fore legs feebly developed in both sexes. 
This is the largest of the five families and contains many well- 
known forms. The Phantom Butterfly or Spectre, seen here 
and there in the depth of the jungle, is one of the most remark- 
able Malayan Butterflies. It is a large-winged insect, white, 
with black veins and blotches, and its popular name is due to 
its floating and uncertain mode of flight. There are two or 
three species of it on the Peninsula, the most common of which 
is Hestia lynceus—AhunddLXit on the hills of the Peninsula are 
the various species of Euphea, large brown and blue winged 
butterflies. Their wings are generally spotted with white.— 
Almost classical has become the butterfly Kallima paralekta 
which Wallace first described from Sumatra. Its upper surface 
is of a rich purple, and across the fore wings runs a broad bar 
of deep orange. Wallace tells how this butterfly, so very con- 
spicuous when on the wing, seemed suddenly to disappear when 
entering a bush, but that after several failures he managed to 
solve the mystery. It is not only the colour of the under sur- 
face of the wings which closely resembles that of a dead leaf, 
but also the tip, the midrib, the veins and the stalk of a leaf 
are closely imitated, so that the butterfly when reposing against 
a twig and with his wings closed, seems a part of the plant. 
This is one of the most quoted instances of * mimicry ' or pro- 
tective resemblance. A similar species occurs on the Malay 
Peninsula, viz. Kallima bttxtonL— The most beautiful genus of 
this family is Chantxes. It is surpassed only by some of the 
Papiliomdae, Several species of it are exhibited. Still more 
beautiful species of Charaxes occur in Western Tropical 
Africa. 
2. Eryciniidac : fore legs perfect in the female only ; 
tarsi not spined. These butterflies are in the New World 
unsurpassed by their variety and brilliancy of colouring, but 
the Malayan species are not showy, mostly brown or rufous in 
colour, and there are only few of them. The genera Abisara, 
Zemeros and Libythea belong to this family. 
3. Lycaenidae : fore legs perfect in the female only; 
tarsi densely spined beneath. This is a large family, contain- 
ing the well-known ' Blues ' and * Coppers,' mostly small 
