The Rhopalocera of Java: Danaidae, Satyridae, Ragadidae, Elymniadae (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from The Rhopalocera of Java: Danaidae, Satyridae, Ragadidae, Elymniadae

Although in working out the Rhopalocera of Java in connection with the systematic division followed by the late Mr. Snellen, the Danaidae, Satyridae, Ragadidae, and Elymniadae have been regarded as so many separate families, I would, however, in accordance with later views in this respect, include the latter two in the Satyridae, in so far as it concerns my general discussion in this introduction and, therefore, take into account only two groups, that of the Danaidae and that of the Satyridae. Both these belong to those Rhopalocera which boisduval assigned to the group suspemz' and are, therefore, fairly distinct from his group succz'nctz'; this is especially manifest in the earlier stages, not only with regard to the pupae, to which these designations have reference, but also to the larvae. The larvae of the malayo-australian Danaidae at least those of the African and American forms I am not sufficiently acquainted with are characterized by the possession of shorter or longer fleshy processes, such as do not occur in the larvae of the Papilionidae and Pieridae or of the Hesperidae. It is true the most ancient forms of larvae in the genus papilio, especially the ornithoptera, do possess fleshy processes but of a totally different character, being straight and rather stiff in appearance, and not in any way capable of voluntary movement as, to a certain extent, is the case in the larvae of Danaidae, evidently as a vestige of a former, much more mobile, condition. In the larvae of Satyridae spiny processes occur at the head and tail, while in those of Nymphalidae similar processes are found in various shapes on other parts, of the body but in the larvae of the families of szcccz'nclc' no trace of them can be observed. A close relationship between these two large groups, which.

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