572 RHOPALOCERA. 



The antennae are about half the length of the costa, and have a moderately long 

 club, terminating in a long crook. The third joint of the palpi is short and conical. 

 The primaries are moderately long, blunt at the tip, and arched at the base ; the cell 

 is much less than two-thirds the length of the costa ; the discocellulars are oblique, 

 the upper one much longer than the lower, the latter about as long as the third median 

 segment ; the lower radial is depressed at the base ; the first branch arises about the 

 middle of the median nervure, the second a little before the lower angle of the cell. 

 The secondaries are rounded at the anal angle ; the discocellulars are faint. The body 

 is rather slender. The middle tibiae are spined (except in M. epiberus and possibly in 

 one or two others) and the hind tibia? have two pairs of spurs. 



There is a good deal of divergence in the structure of the genitalia of the males of 

 the species we refer to this genus, as will be seen by our Plate. 



a. Primaries immaculate, or with very indistinct spots. 



1. Megistias tripunctatus. (Tab. CI. figg. 1, 2, 3, <s .) 



Ilesperia iripwnctata, Latr. Enc. Meth. ix. p. 752 \ 



Pamphila obsolete/,, Moschl. Verh. zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, xxviii. p. 215 \ 



Alis fuscis, anticis punctis duobus inter ramos medianos ad cellulse finem, tribus in linea transversa 

 subapicalibus, omnibus indistinctis (iuterdum obsoletis) : subtus pallidioribus, marginibus externis linea 

 angusta obscura limbatis, punctis ut supra ; posticis squamis griseis vestitis, area discali maculis serie 

 transversa irregulari curvata nigro-fuscis ; palpis efc abdomine subtus albidis. 



2 mari sinrilis. 



Hab. Mexico, Atoyac, Teapa (H. H. Smith) ; Panama, Chiriqui (Bibbe). — Colombia 2 ; 

 Venezuela; Amazons; Brazil 1 . 



Mr. Smith procured for us a long series of this insect from Atoyac, agreeing well 

 with others from more southern localities in our collection. Latreille's brief descrip- 

 tion seems to leave but little doubt that the above name is applicable to the present 

 species, which may be distinguished from all its allies by the dark discal spots on the 

 underside of the secondaries. There is a certain amount of variation in the number 

 of the spots, some examples having as few as three, others five or six, and this appears 

 to be independent of locality. We have seen Moschler's type of P. obsoleta, from 

 Colombia, which in no way differs from the Central-American insect. Our figures are 

 taken from Atoyac examples. For the genitalia of the male (three specimens of which 

 have been dissected, from Mexico and Brazil), see Tab. CI. fig. 3. 



2. Megistias jera, sp . n. (Tab. CI. figg. 4, 5, s .) 



Alis fuscis, anticis puncto inter ramos medianos secundum et tertium ad cellulae finem, tribus in linea 

 transversa subapicalibus (interdum obsoletis), omnibus minutis, albidis: subtus ut supra, anticis ad 

 angulum analem pallidioribus ; posticis squamis scbistaceis vestitis, duas fascias transversas obscuras 

 apicem versus formantibus ; palpis et corpore subtus albidis ; antennis plus minusve albo-annulatis. 



$ mari similis. 



