NOVTTATES ZOOLOGICAE XXVI. 1919. '5 



Castnia (Corybantes) veraguana parambae subsp. nov. 



Messrs. Houlbert and Oberthiir have stated their conviction that West- 

 wood's veraguana and Schaus's govara are distinct species, while Dr. Strand 

 considers them 3 ?. There are in the Tring Museum 3 SS of govara, and if it 

 were not for a fourth ^ of this group the question of identity or otherwise might 

 have remained doubtful. But a S from Paramba, Ecuador, appears to solve the 

 problem, for while having as in govara only 2 vitreous subapical spots instead of 

 3 as in veraguarui, it has the large median chevron-like band of the fcrewings 

 much narrower and deeper rufous, not whitish as in govara, while the hindwings 

 are exactly as in Westwood's figure of veraguana. The latter, however, has 

 the chevron band much broader than in govara. The truth therefore seems to 

 be that we have here 3 local races or subspecies of veraguami, but the character 

 of the 2 versus 3 hyaline subapical spots appears to be sexual. 



This new form differs from veraguana veraguana by the very narrow and 

 more rufous chevron band. 



I (J Paramba, Ecuador, January — August 1898 (Flemming) 



Castnia (Corybantes) veraguana govara Schaus 



Castnia govara Schaus, Joiirn. Nov York Enlnm. Soc. vol. iv. p. 147 (1896) (Columbia). 



Differs from both ver. veraguana and ver. parambae in the entire absence 

 of the red median band on the hindwings, only 1 of the 3 SS at Tring showing 

 a minute red dot in the black disc. 



3 (J (J Sta Fe de Bogota, Columbia. 



Castnia (Castniomera) atymnius Dalm. 



Castnia atymnius Dalman, Prodr. Monogr. Castniae, in Act. Holm. p. 12 (1824) (Brazil). 



Messrs. Oberthiir and Houlbert have divided this species into a number of 

 species ; but as far as my series of this group of Castnia shows, I can only 

 accept two as good species, viz. drucei Schaus and atymnius Dalm., the latter 

 with at least 6 subspecies. All the subspecies show a tendency for some 

 individuals to have the outer half of hindwings rufous or pale brown instead 

 of black or deep brown, and this makes it almost impossible at the present 

 moment to fix the forms named neicmanni and afjinis by Houlbert, for he records 

 neunnanni from Panama, Columbia, Guatemala, and Venezuela, while afpnis 

 is only recorded from Columbia. Again it is very difficult to follow Mr. Houlbert 

 when he says in one paragraph (page 209) that hitmboldti is exclusively confined 

 to Columbia and four lines farther down records specimens of humboldti in 

 Mr. Oberthiir's collection from Venezuela. As Mr. Houlbert, however, states that 

 Guenee quotes Columbia with a ? as the habitat of the type of Houlbert's 

 neivmanni I consider we have the right to fix the type locality by subsequent 

 designation as probably Venezuela, as my series from there agree best with 

 their figure, and I shall in this list do so, at the same time considering all 

 the specimens from other localities quoted by Houlbert imder neumanni as 

 aberrations of the respective forms of atymnius from those localities. 



Messrs. Houlbert and Oberthiir divide their genus Castniomera into two 

 sections ; one Melanosema, where the forewing has only a single pale band, while 

 the other, Phaeosema, has two. On examination it will, however, be found that 



