THE CATAGEAMMAS. 



603 



upper pair. The azure only Leloiu 

 simply black and white. 



to the male, the female being 



TiiE genus Catagrannia is easily di.stinguished by the peculiarity 

 iVom which it derives its name, which is composed of two Greek 

 words, signifying something tliat is painted or written upon. It is 

 applied to these insects because the under surface of the lower 

 wings is always covered with a boldly delineated pattern of con- 

 trasting colours. All these Butterflies are natives of the New. 

 World. The painting of the lower wings is very much alike in 



\\'v.^,fr^ 



Fig ;-i43. — (Jatagraimna exci Kn 

 (Above, Tilaok nn<\ oraiigo. ) 



most of the species, but the upper svirface varies very considerably, 

 especially in the upper wings. None of the Catagrammas are 

 large insects, those which are here given being of the average size. 

 There is only one specimen of Catagramma excelsior in the 

 British Museum. It is a native of the Amazons district. 

 Above, the upper wings are black, with a broad band of orange 

 reaching from the base nearly as far as the outer edge, and near 

 the tip is a slight dash of the same colour. The lower wings are 



