ACR^.lD.i:. 91 



forehead, densely hairy beneath, and compressed laterally ; 

 antennce rather long and stout, with a more or less abrupt, 

 flattened club. Thorax compressed, narrow, ovate, more or 

 less pubescent. Fore-wings elongate : costa almost straight, 

 being only slightly convex at base ; apex more or less 

 rounded ; hind-margin in general more or less convex, but 

 when the apical portion is more produced than in the gene- 

 rality of species, its central portion is concave ; anal angle 

 more or less rounded ; inner-margin almost straight. Hind- 

 wings sub-ovate, somewhat truncate ; costa, though convex 

 at base, remarkably straight throughout to apex, which is 

 slightly rounded ; hind-margin tolerably convex, entire; anal 

 angle scarcely marked, being much rounded off; inner-mar- 

 gins rather convex, sometimes almost touching beneath base 

 of abdomen. Discoidal cell closed in both wings. Legs 

 stout, rather short ; the first pair imperfect, short, hairy, ap- 

 pressed to thorax, not used in walking. Abdomen elongate, 

 often much arched, generally as long as inner-margin of hind- 

 wings, and often extending considerably beyond anal angle, — 

 thickened more or less at its extremity, where, in the ? , 

 there is commonly a peculiar, corneous appendage. 



Larva. — *' Cylindric, spiny." — E. Doubl. 



Pupa. — " Slender, angulated." — E. Doubl. 



The AcrcBidce are a group of peculiar-looking Butterflies ; 

 and, a single species having been seen, are very readily recog- 

 nised by the collector. The length of body and fore-wings, 

 the abruptly-clubbed antennae, and upward-turning, diver- 

 gent palpi, are mai'ked structural characters. As regards 

 colouring, the prominent arrangement consists of an ochrey- 

 yellow, brick-red, or pale-brown ground-colour, with black 

 spots and borderings. In some species, however, a dark 

 ground-colour prevails, of brown or black, with pale yellow- 

 ish or white patches. All are more or less thinly covered 

 with scales, and some are peculiarly transparent. The 

 Family is essentially an African one ; thirty-five of the forty- 

 six species, enumerated by Mr. Doubleday in the " Genera 

 of Diurnal Lepidoptera," being from Africa and its islands. 

 Of the remaining eleven therein catalogued, two are Asiatic, 

 eight American, and one species from Australia. 1 have 

 found fifteen species recorded from Africa South of the 

 Tropic of Capricorn, and I have little doubt that more re- 

 main to be discovered. All these are comprised in the single 

 Genus Acrcea, first proposed by Fabricius ; though A. Ama- 

 zonia, Boisd., ought perhaps to be considered as forming a 

 distinct sub-genus, proposed by its describer as Aloena. 



