1919.] 5 



CATAGRAMMA PITHEAS AND CATAGRAMMA CYCLOPS 

 DISTINCT SPECIES. 



BY W. J. KATE, F.E.S. 



For a long time it has been uncertain whether C. Cyclops might not 

 be an aberration or race of C. pitheas. So far as is known, it has only 

 been taken a short distance up the Tapajos River, one of the larger 

 ti'ibutaries of the Amazon, at a place called Itaituba. C. cy clops was 

 originally described by Staudinger from this locality, in " Iris," iv, 

 pp. 66-71 (1891). At first, five or six specimens were sent, then 

 some twenty more, all of which were captured by D. 0. Michael at this 

 same place. Although the obvious difference on the underside, by the 

 complete absence of the upper eye-spot, gives the insect a distinct 

 appearance, it has been felt by many that eyclops might only be an 

 aberration of the widely spread and somewhat variable pitheas. A dis- 

 section of the genitalia of two eyclops and two pitheas makes it quite 

 clear that these two are distinct species. The harpe of both is of the 

 same shape, but inside the harpe there is a curious small organ, which is 



C. CYCLOPS _^- 



C.PITHEAS 



adze-shaped at its exti'emity in eyclops and sickle-shaped in pitheas 

 A reference to the two figures will show the difference at once. 



Staudinger very carefully diagnosed eyclops and detected all the 

 salient differences which are there. It usually has a blue gloss in 

 the 6 and always has a '• somewhat more curved, rather narrower and 

 somewhat shorter" following discal band "only running to the first 

 median vein." He further says that amongst all the pitheas he finds 

 only one from Venezuela with a band almost as short and narrow as in 

 Cyclops. In eyclops on the underside the black inner basal stripe is 

 narrow and less evenly curved. The ground-colour is tawny yellow and 

 the upper eye-spot as found in pitheas is totally absent. In all the 

 eyclops sent Staudinger says none showed " the least trace of the second 

 eye " and " not one in hundreds of pitheas shows a tendency for the eye 

 to disappear." 



