Page:Jardine Naturalist's Library Foreign Butterflies.djvu/144

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124

Genus TERIAS.


We owe the establishment of this genus to Mr. Swainson. It includes a considerable number of species, the greater proportion of which have been but lately discovered. They are small insects, of delicate structure, and usually of a light yellow colour, with the apex of the upper wings deep black. The caterpillars, as far as we are acquainted with them, are attached to leguminous plants, and live between the tropics both of the old and new world The most important generic characters are the following: antennæ of moderate length, the articulations pretty distinct, terminating in an ovoid or conical club, which is slightly curved downwards, and compressed laterally: palpi very short, the terminal joint half the length of the preceding one, naked, and a little salient; abdomen slender and compressed, nearly as long as the inferior wings; wings of delicate texture, the costal line a good deal arched towards the base. Caterpillars slender, linear, and pubescent; chrysalis a little arched, and somewhat compressed, terminating in a point anteriorly.