Volume 2

South-African butterflies : a monograph of the extra-tropical species / by Roland Trimen ; assisted by James Henry Bowker.

  • Trimen, Roland.
Date:
[1887-1889]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: South-African butterflies : a monograph of the extra-tropical species / by Roland Trimen ; assisted by James Henry Bowker. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    other families, or even to moths, and the three latter of which present the anomaly of completely articulated and clawed fore-tarsi in the male. This latter character decidedly indicates affinity with the sub- family Pierince of the Papilionidce ; and a further minor feature of resemblance is found in the reduced or obsolete spurs of the tibiae. The great mass of the Lycamidce consists of small butterflies, and it is rare to find any that approach the middle size. In this respect they resemble the Eryciniclce, but the range of size is somewhat more extended, the smallest members of the genus Zyccena being barely half an inch across the expanded fore-wings, while the giant of the family, Liphyra Brassolis, Westw., reaches 3I inches. Some of the larger species of Phytala, Bpitola, Thecla, and Amblypodia, however, reach or slightly exceed an expanse of 2J inches; but a very large majority of Zyccenidce ranges between 1 inch and if inches. What these butter- flies want in stature is more than compensated by their great beauty; very few of them are of dull colouring (except a good many of the females), and such as are so on one surface of the wings are very often of great splendour on the other. Intense and very generally highly- metallic uniform tints of purple, violet, blue, green, red, or orange prevail on the upper side,—the males, as usual, almost always much exceeding the females in brilliancy ; and the less dazzling but infinitely varied colouring and elaborate patterns of the under side (of close agreement in the sexes of each species), are often rendered still more effective by glittering golden, silvery, or steely spots. No other family of butterflies exhibits such a striking and varied development of the appendages or “ tails ” borne on the hind-margin of the hind- wings, varying in number from one to three, and in length from a mere dentation to more than an inch, and often curiously widened, fringed, and twisted. In connection with these appendages, it may be noted that all, or nearly all, the Zycce?iidce (as mentioned above in the general remarks on Rhopalocera, under the heading, “ 5. Haunts and Habits ”), when settled temporarily, have the custom of moving the hind-wings alternately up and down, so that their upper surfaces rub against each other,—a movement which the “ tails,” as well as the usual metallic-dotted eye-like spots on the hind-margin, render additionally noticeable. The Ethiopian Region has not hitherto yielded a very large number of species, only rather under 200 being recorded, but it is rich in genera, 22 of the 47 recognised by most authors being known to occur. Of these 2 2- genera, no less than 14 (or 13, if, as I think most probable, Hevritsonia, Kirby ( — Corydon, Boisd.), is not separable from Epilola, Westw.) are limited to Africa, viz., Capys, Chrysorychia, Pentila, Ziptena, D'Urbania, Alcena, Phytala, Bpitola, Deloneura, Pseuderesia, Mimacrcea, Arrugia, and Zachnocnema. Those peculiar to Tropical Africa are Phytala, Bpitola, Ziptena, Pseuderesia, and Mimacrcea. Southern Africa appears to be comparatively richer than the tropical
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