LYC.ENID.E. 55 



wliich tlie two next anal angle are often immediately preceded by 

 two minute whitish spots. Under side. — Pale grcyish-broion ; mark- 

 ings mostly of the ground-colour, hut their white edgings well defined. 

 Fore-ioing : disco-cellular terminal lunule broad, subreniform ; discal 

 row of six imperfect annulets between subcostal and submedian ner- 

 vures, highly irregular, — the second and fourth projecting beyond the 

 rest, and the sixth considerably before them (so as to be in a lino 

 with terminal cellular marking) ; two submarginal rows of thin white 

 lunulate marks, of which the lowest in each row is larger than the 

 rest — so that the two partly unite ; a dull whitish hind-marginal line 

 (becoming pure- white and wider at its low^er extremity), succeeded by 

 a brown line. Hind-wing : a sub-basal series of three to four united 

 rather large white annulets, of which that next costa is oval and much 

 the largest ; a broad terminal disco-cellular marking, with both white 

 edges rather suffused ; discal series of very imperfect more or less 

 confluent annulets highly irregular, — the second annulet being only 

 partly beyond, and immediately above, terminal disco-cellular marking, 

 while the third is far beyond the second, and the firet of a continuous 

 but irregular series of six, terminating on inner margin ; between 

 second subcostal and first median nervules, a hind-marginal series of 

 four distinct round black spots, each containing a large crescent of 

 glittering greenish-golden scales, surrounded by a whitish ring, and 

 preceded at a little distance by a more or less suffused whitish 

 lunule ; traces of two similarly coloured spots near apex (the second 

 immediately preceded by a rather large and conspicuous whitish spot), 

 and more distinct traces of another at anal angle ; cilia dark -brown at 

 its origin. 



$ Similar ; on upper side paler. Under side. — As in $. 



Tliis species was discovered by Wahlberg close to Walvisch Bay, iu 

 Damaraland, but has since been found to hiliabit many localities in Exti-a- 

 Tropical South Africa. It differs from L. TrocJiilu'^, Frey, in its smaller 

 size, wliite cilia interrapted with bro\vn, and want of orange kmules m tlie 

 hind-wings ; while its under side is darker, much more irregularly marked, 

 without black centres to any of the ordinary spots, and witli never less than 

 four jewelled spots on the hind-margin of the hind-wings. Metophis is, how- 

 ever, much nearer to a Lyecena from Ceylon in the British Museum, labelled 

 " L. Chinga " (but which has not, I believe, been described), and to the Cali- 

 fornian L. exilis, Boisd. It differs from both in its broad white cilia inter- 

 rupted with brown, and from the Californian species vn. wanting a bluish 

 suffusion at the bases of the wings on the upper side and a shining reddish 

 suffusion over the outer half of the fore-wings on the mider side. 



I have met with this beautiful little butterfly only at Ilobertson, in the 

 Cape Colony, where in January 1876 I captured a few specimens flitting 

 about close to the gi-ound on the dry hill-sides. Colonel Bowker has forwarded 

 examples from the north and north-east of the Cape Colony, Mr. E. CI. Alston 

 from the north central, and Mr. L. Pcringuey from the nortli-west. The latter 

 found it generally distributed in Namaqualand, though local in its haunts, 

 and collected in that district and the adjoining one of Clanwilliam twenty- 

 four specimens. I am not aware of its occurrence near the cast of the Cape 



