A Catalogue of the Hesperiidae from Europe, Asia, and Australia in the British Museum (Natural History)

Abstract

The Oriental section contains the greatest number of species. The centre of development may be regarded as an area enclosed by a circle drawn through Tavoy, Hainan, Borneo, Java and Sumatra. Subsidiary developments have taken place in India, S.W. China, the Philippines and the Celebes, while a very minor development {Isoteinon Group) has taken place in the Palaearctic region. Many species, especially those of the open country type as opposed to the forest type, have extended from the central area into the subsidiary areas, and vice versa, as well as reaching into the Papuan section and the Lesser Sunda Islands, which seem to be devoid of any particular development of their own.The Papuan section appears to be little more than a subsidiary development of the Oriental section, with a branch centred in New Guinea and another in Australia. In New Guinea the most intensive development has occurred in the Taractrocera Group, which has extended all round the Australian coast. There has also been some development, extending in part to N.E. Australia, in the Coeliadinae and a few other genera {Chaetocneme^Tagiades, NotocryptUy Prada, Tiacellia and Borbo). The Australian branch comprises only the peculiar genus Euschemon, where the male has a moth-like frenulum and jugum, three species of Chaetocneme and single species in the genera Netrocoryne and Exometoeca. The Australian section comprises the Trapezitinae, an isolated subfamily, with no apparent relationship to any other Tropical development. A few members of the subfamily are to be found in New Guinea. a lower category than species or sub-species : names applicable to varieties, aberrations or generations have, however, been listed. The material for each species has been arranged by localities, working generally from West to East and, wherever possible, by dates of capture. Certain modifications have been made in the constitution of genera. It is considered that the best guide to the xi As for the Catalogue of African Hesperiidae, the coloured plates have been executed by Miss Dorothy Fitchew, whose work continues to be unsurpassed. An asterisk before a specific or sub-specific name in the text and in the index indicates that a figure will be found in the coloured plates. Only previously unfigured species have been figured. xii GENERIC GROUPS There is a considerable development in Africa and America. J (I). H vein 5 not decurved at origin. Wings often much produced and in some genera the antennae very long. P lasting! a Group. 26 genera, all Oriental except for the last two (Tiacellia, Prada), which appertain to New Guinea and are related to the Trapezitinae, There is a considerable development of this Group in Africa and America. , Ka (Fb). Antennal club more or less constricted before the apiculus, which is whip-like, but may be absent. F vein 5 generally decurved at origin. H lower end of cell upturned and vein 5 usually not traceable: tornus more or less produced and vein lA usually as long as vein 2. S upf often with a discal stigma. Kb (M). Prevailing colouri...

Phylogenetic relationships of subfamilies in the family Hesperiidae (Lepidoptera: Hesperioidea) from China

“…In the family Hesperiidae, Coeliadinae with morphological synapomorphies is relatively unique and easy to be distinguished from the remaining subfamilies 5,7 . The five genera (Bibasis, Burara, Hasora, Badamia, Choaspes) in this subfamily are distributed in China.…”

“…Given the higher value of posterior probabilities, we support the status of Eudaminae and that Lobocla as the only genus of Eudaminae occurring in the Oriental, Neotropical and Nearctic regions. The subfamily Pyrginae has long been treated as a paraphyletic group 5,7,13,32 . Warren et al 14 recovered the monophyly of Pyrginae with moderate support.…”

Reconstructing a 55-million-year-old butterfly (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae)

“…The extant subfamily Coeliadinae occurs throughout the tropics from Africa to Australia and far into the Pacifi c, with a very slight extension in East Asia to Japan and the Amur region (Southeast Siberia) (Evans, 1937(Evans, , 1949. It can be divided into eight or nine genera, three of which are confi ned to Africa, and fi ve or six to Asia and Australia.…”

Systematic Implications of ButterflyLeg Structures that Clean the Antennae

“…Among butterflies, the skippers (Hesperiidae) and swallowtails (Papilionidae) possess a tibial epiphysis (Evans 1949, Ehrlich 1958, but other butterfly families do not. The absence of a tibial epiphysis in these families raises the question of how they clean their antennae.…”