Subfamily Euplœinæ (the Euplœids)
Large or medium-sized butterflies; fore wings somewhat produced at apex; hind wings rounded, never with tails; fore legs greatly atrophied in the males, somewhat less so in the females; hind wings of the males marked with one or more sexual brands which in the American species are located on or near the first median nervule; some of the oriental species are white, many are dark brown or black in color, shot with purple and violet; all of the American species are of some shade of reddish brown or fulvous, with the apex of the fore wings and the outer borders of both fore and hind wings margined widely with darker color, and the veins and nervules also darker, standing out in bold relief upon the lighter ground-color; the apex of the primary and the outer border of the secondary wings are more or less spotted with light color, often with white.
The adult caterpillars are cylindrical in form, adorned with long fleshy filaments, and with their bodies of some light shade of yellow or green banded with darker colors. The American species feeds upon the plants belonging to the family of the Asclepiadaceæ, or Milkweeds.
The chrysalis is smooth, pale in color, often ornamented with metallic spots, usually golden.
This subfamily, which is represented in the tropics of the Old World by many genera and species, is only represented in the United States by one genus, Anosia.