540 PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM vol. 90 



and clearly marked on the under side of the hind wings. It resembles 

 most closely specimens from Guatemala and from San Mateo, Costa 

 Rica, in the National Museum collection. 



The specimen from Brownsville is a slightly larger male with the 

 fore wing 42 mm. long. It is not so contrastingly marked on the under 

 side of the hind wings as is the specimen from near Castroville. It 

 agrees very closely with a specimen from Honduras in the National 

 Museum collection. 



Danaus cleothera is easily distinguished from D. eremnus. which, 

 according to Dr. Marston Bates, occurs in southern Florida, by the 

 absence of the two large white spots between veins 2 and 3 and 3 and 4 

 on the fore wings above and by the conspicuous white borders of the 

 veins on the hind wings beneath. 



DANAUS JAMAICENSIS Bates 



Plate 73, Figxtres 1, 2 



LocalifAj. — Florida, collected by Prof. Roland Thaxter. 



Notes. — The Barnes collection, now in the United States National 

 Museum, contains a typical example of this species from Florida. The 

 label has printed upon it the word "FZor/^ff," below which is written 

 in a German hand the name "Thaxter." Presumably the specimen 

 was collected in Florida by Dr. Roland Thaxter, professor of crypto- 

 gamic botany at Harvard University, w'ho in his early years was an 

 enthusiastic entomologist, and the name "Thaxter" written on the 

 label by Dr. Herman August Hagen, who until his death in 1893 had 

 charge of the insects in the Museum of Comparative Zoology. The 

 label has been compared with a specimen of Dr. Hagen's handwriting, 

 and there appears to be little doubt that the name "Thaxter" was 

 written on the label by him. 



Remarks. — Certain small pale specimens of Danaus herenice strigosa 

 from Mexico approach D. jamaicensis so very closely as to suggest' 

 that jamaicensis should be considered as a subspecies of herenice rather 

 than as a distinct species. 



KEY TO THE DANAmS RECORDED FROM THE UNITED STATES 



a\ Ground color of wings dull orange, veins black plexippus 



6\ Preapical spots on fore wings light dull orange ; apical portion of fore wing 

 with more or less dull orange ; two rows of small white spots in the black 



border of hind wing plexippus plexippus (pi. 71, fig. 1) 



6*. Preapical spots on fore wings white or v.hitish ; apical portion of fore wing 

 almost wholly, or quite, black ; spots in black border of the hind wing 

 obsolete or wholly absent in central portion. 



plexippus megalippe (pi. 71, fig. 2) 



