LYC.^NID.^E. 43 



wing blackish, in liind-wing of the ground-colour and confluent except 

 the first and rarely the second spot), — and two rows of faint-whitish 

 lunules (separated by darker marks), of which the outer forms annulets 

 with a whitish hind-marginal line ; a thin blackish line bordering hind- 

 margin. Hind-wiiu) : four white-ringed dark spots before middle, — 

 cue (usually the most conspicuous) between costal and subcostal ner- 

 vures, one in cell and two on inner margin ; hind-marginal black spot 

 usually whitish-ringed and often orange-lunuled, — sometimes obso- 

 lete ; row beyond middle angulated on second subcostal nervule. 



$ Glistening dark greyish-hroum ; very rarely with a few blue scales 

 near bases. Hind-wing: besides hind-marginal black spot (which is 

 very rarely indistinct), a row of indistinct pale annulets is usually 

 visible. Under side, — As in ^ ; markings more distinct. 



In some specimens, of both sexes, the markings are very faint beneath, 

 and the gi'ound-colour duller and slightly darker tlian usual. 



I have not found any characters to distinguish L. Sebagadis (Gu^r.) from 

 Messapus. A rather large and pale $ in the Hewitson Collection in the 

 British Museum, which I examined in 1881, was marked "type," and was 

 thus probably received from M. Guerin as true Sebarjadis. 



In the under-side markings and in the upper side of the ^ , Mcssapus is 

 not unlike a miniature L. Cissus (Godt.), but the wholly brown upper side 

 of the 9 is altogether different from that of the $ Cissus, and is not unlike 

 that of L. AIsus (W. V.), so well-known a native of Eurojie. In size and 

 appearance generally it most resembles L. Lysimon (Hiibn.), bvit the $ differs 

 in its very much narrower dark border, and the $ in its want of any blue, 

 on the upper side ; while both sexes present a darker, much less distinctly 

 spotted imder side, wanting in the fore-wing the two sub-basal spots well 

 marked in Lysimon. 



This Lycixna abounds about Cape Town, occurring thi^oughout the year in 

 open ground, esjoecially in grassy spots. Its flight is very weak and close to 

 the ground, and it settles very frequently on low plants. It has a wide dis- 

 tribution m South Africa, but I am not aware of its occurrence in Natal, 

 and have not met with it at all numerously except near Cape Town, 



Localities of Lycwna Mcssapus. 



I. South Africa. 



B. Cape Colony, 



a. Western Districts. — Cape Town. Vogel Vley, Tulbagh Dis- 

 trict. Caledon (/. X. Merriman). Robertson, Montagu. 

 Knysna. Plettenberg Bay. 

 h. Eastern Districts. — Mun^aysburg {J. J. Mnshit). Grahams- 

 town. King William's Town (IF. S. M. U Urban), 

 d. Basutoland. — Maseru (,/. H. Boicher). 

 D, Katfraria Proper. — Butterworth and Bashee River (/. H. Bowlier). 



II. Other African Regions, 



B. North Tropical. 



61 Eastern Interior. — "Abyssinia {Lefebvre).^^ — Guerin [Se- 



bagadis]. 



