LYCENID/E. 37 



ivJdte tips throughout ; no tail on hind-wing. Under side. — Dusky 

 hroivnish-grey ; occlliforvi spots black, with jmlc-grei/ rings, arranged as 

 in Z. Cissus, but no ocellus in discoidal cell of fore-wing, and the outer 

 row of spots hardly visible on either wing ; sj^ace hdwccn the two rows 

 marked hy a lunulate hoary-greyish hand ; close to hind-margin a row 

 of very indistinct, darker, lunular spots. Hind-iving : between second 

 and first median nervules, close to hind-margin, a narrow, blackish 

 dot, tipped with ferruginous internally, with greyish-blue externally ; 

 row of discal ocelli interrupted, in one specimen nearly obliterated 

 inferiorly. 



$ Violet brighter and better defined than in ^, forming a patch on 

 inner-marginal half of both loings, rising very little above median ner- 

 vure, and extending a little beyond middle. Under side. — As in ^ ; 

 spots more conspicuous, especially that on hind-margin between second 

 and first median nervules of hind-wing, in which the ferruginous and 

 blue colouring is distinct. 



This is a variable species. Specimens from Grahamstown agree 

 with those above described from Knysna, Cape Colony, except in their 

 larger size, but examples from Kaflx'aria Proper differ — in the ^ by a 

 purer (not cupreous) violet upper side and a darker hind-marginal 

 border, and in the $ by the entire absence of violet, the upper side 

 being wholly reddish-brown, except for a very slight bluish tinge near 

 the bases. In Natal the ^ s agree with the Kaffrarian specimens ; but 

 of the two $ s I have seen, the smaller has only a very small space of 

 basi-inner-marginal rather bright blue, while the other has all the sur- 

 face, except the broad borders, shot with bright shining-blue. 



A constant and conspicuous distinguishing character of Niobe is the 

 whitish band across the under side, just beyond the discal row of spots, 

 formed by the inner row of submarginal lunules, in contrast with the 

 dusky-grey ground-colour preceding it, and especially with a dark 

 streak immediately succeeding it. 



I founded this species on three examples captured by myself at Knysna 

 in October and March 1858. They were flitting about grass and low plants 

 on the hill-sides, and looked like some small dark Satyrince. The butterfly 

 was afterwards shown to have a wide range to the eastward and northward, 

 but it seems to be nowhere numerous. I took a single specimen on the coast 

 of Victoria County, Natal, in March 1867; and in February 1870 Mr. H. 

 Barber captured a very fine 5 near Grahamstown. 



Localities of Lycwna Niobe. 



I. South Africa. 



B. Cape Colony. 



a. Western Districts. — Knysna. 



h. Eastern Districts. — Grahamstown {M. E. and //. Barber). 



d. Basutoland. — Koro Koro (/. H. Bowlier). 

 D. Kaffraria Proper. — Bashee River (/. //. Bowker). 

 VOL. II. D 



