LYCAENIDAE. General Topics. By Dr. A. Seitz. 
799 
8. Family: Lycaenidae. 
In the Preface to the palaearctic Lycaenidae (Vol. I, p. 257—258) we had already pointed out that 
owing to the immense abundance of forms in this family it was only possible to deal with it quite cursorily, 
but in the Indian part, quoting more than three times as many species, we are forced to be still more brief. 
We are hardly able to say much more pertinent to it in a rough outline than what was mentioned in that 
Preface; we, therefore, refer to the passage quoted in Volume I and here only some more special remarks 
with respect to the Indo-Australian range are to be stated. 
Kirby in his Catalogue knew scarcely 450 specifically Indo-Australian species of Lycaenidae. Already 
at the end of the century this number had been more than doubled. And if we were to introduce in the 
Indo-Australians the same system of denominating all the aberrations as is in vogue in the European and 
North Asiatic forms and was introduced more by amateurs than by men of science, a man’s life would be 
hardly sufficient for a critical elaboration. 
Supposing the greatest part of the more remarkable Lycaenidae- species in the best-known regions 
of the Indian district to be denominated and known as regards to their exterior, yet the habits of almost 
all the exotic Lycaenidae are still well nigh unknown. We are even still entirely ignorant of the early stages 
of many of the palaearctic forms known long ago. Modern works, especially by Chapman, have shown 
that in Europe even common species were still taken one for another and confounded with forms being simi¬ 
lar in the exterior. Of one of our best-known species, L. avion, the full-grown larva is not known and in 
many others only the rough exterior of the early stages is known. 
In the whole Indo-Australian district there is hardly any secluded island to which the Lycaenidae 
have not penetrated. From New Zealand, being remarkable for its scarcity of day-butterflies, there are 
5 species yet known. In some remote islands they seem often to become extinct, but to fly back anew on 
the wind being favourable, for they sometimes disappear for years in such places, as for instance certain islands 
from among the group of the Marshall- or Low Islands. In the Indian primeval forests they seem not to 
be so completely absent as in those of certain American districts, for in India I even sometimes found un¬ 
expectedly in the remotest forest-shade a Lycaenidae, such as Talicada nysea or the like. They are mostly 
fond of visiting the open country being interspersed with bushes. They often bustle about in great numbers 
on the bare tops of mountains and grassy hillsides; some, as Polyommatus baeticus, are to be found in almost 
every garden of the Indo-Australian district, and even on the almost bare lawns covered with street-dust in 
the midst of the tropical town, the little species of Zizera, Chilades or Everes are seen flying all the year 
round. 
The Lycaenidae are absolute lovers of the sun, and although among other likewise heliophile groups, 
such as the Pierids, Satyr ids or Hesperids there are always single groups flying preferably at dawn or even 
at night, I can scarcely remember of having captured any Lycaenidae by the light of the lantern at night. 
Even in tropical districts the Lycaenids disappeared very quickly when the sky was overcast, and even then 
when other Rhopalocera, such as Pieridi, Mycalesis, Melanilis etc. were still merrily flying about. But then 
they sometimes appeared in such an enormous number in the bright and glaring sunshine that the air seemed 
in some places to sparkle with them. The greatest numbers I saw in the streets of the towns of Coimbatore 
and Metupalayan, being often crowded with people and vehicles; when I lay down on the ground looking 
across the sunlit high-road, the Zizera all of which were darting to and fro about 6 to 10 m above the soil, 
seemed indeed to form a coherent cover being spread across the high-road. Particularly where small water¬ 
courses are flowing across dusty roads, one may often meet Avhole groups of Lycaenidae crowded together 
frequently belonging to several different species. Then again certain bushes or blossoms seem to attract 
some Lycaenidae from afar; as for instance the magnificent, very large Arhopala-rf^ sometimes gather on 
isolated bushes to such an extent that the latter appear as if covered with charmingly blue blossoms. The 
larvae of Jalmenus evagoras in Australia often cover their food-trees in dense crowds, and their pupae here¬ 
after hang on the twigs so closely together that they look like the berries of a grape. 
In contrast with this we know a great number of Lycaenidae that are most rarely captured. This 
may sometimes be due to their rendez-vous being very high above the soil. Thus the very long-tailed Binda- 
