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Show 1900.] BUTTERFLIES OF T H E GENUS ZIZERA. 105 Butterflies inhabiting different geographical areas can well be; yet I find the decisions arrived at by D e Niceville echoed by Leech in his ' Butterflies of China and Japan.' The question which naturally occurs to me is: Did these gentlemen ever separate the whole of the specimens before them into geographical forms before deciding that they represented one widespread and variable species ? If they had done so, I cannot avoid the conclusion that they would either have kept them separate, or have included the whole genus under one widely distributed and still more variable species. The genus Zizera consists of small Butterflies with naked eyes ; the hind wings rounded, without tail, never ocellated above or below ; the costal and subcostal veins perfectly free (on which account I cannot accept the Lyccena lulu of Mathew as a Zizera, since the costal and first subcostals touch one another in that species and the hind wings usually show a black spot below to represent an ocellus). I am not at all sure that Z. labradus, in which the costal vein and first subcostal branch of the fore wings are closely approximated (though they do not touch or unite), is very nearly related to any of the other species of the genus, the position of the discal series of spots on the fore wings being unique; still there seems no sufficient reason for rejectiug it from the genus or group known as Zizera. Before proceeding to a key to the species of Zizera, I wish to express m y conviction that any errors which may have crept into important faunistic works with regard to the clear definition of the species have been largely due to errors of identification published previously, aud almost inevitable at a time when the seasonal phases of species were not even guessed at: thus a wet phase from Calcutta might somewhat resemble a wet phase from Japan, whilst the dry phase was wholly dissimilar. Key to Species of Zizera. A. Hind wings with first three spots of discal series below forming a tolerably regular oblique line a. Species with well-defined and very dissimilar seasonal forms. a. ft. W e t phase of male silvery violet above with very broad outer border, of female brown ; both sexes brownish grey below : dry phase, bluish white above, the female with very broad outer border Z. ma ha. ft. b. W e t phase of male lavender above with much narrower outer border, of female brown; both sexes greyish stone-colour below : dry phase pale lavender shading into silvery blue above, the female with moderately broad border (as in male of wet phase) Z. diluta. «. c. Wet phase of male pearly lilac above, with border as in a. b, but more sharply defined, of female brown; both sexes greyish stone-colour below: dry phase silvery blue, becoming pale lilac and then cream-white, with veins of the latter colour, the female blue with broad border to primaries extending along costa ; a broad costal border to secondaries Z. opalina. |
