LYC/ENID.E. 109 



base and an inner-marginal horder. Fore-wing : baud variable in width, 

 commencing abruptly on or a little above median nervure and first 

 median nervule, and widening more or less to inner margin ; tuft of 

 liairs on inner margin brown. Hind-vAng : basal brown not extending 

 nearly to middle, but emitting a thin ray along fold between median and 

 submedian nervures ; inner-marginal border dull-greyish ; orange-red 

 much paler along costal edge ; hind-margin with a linear black edging 

 thicker inferiorly ; sometimes a very small blackish spot close to hind- 

 margin between first and second median nervnles ; a larger black spot 

 scaled with golden-green on anal-angular lobe ; tail linear, black, white- 

 tipped ; circular badge small, shining-violaceous, just on the branching 

 of subcostal nervure. Under side. — Paler or darher hroioidsh-grey ; 

 in hath ivitigs the following rather darker, on both sides white- edged 

 markings, viz., a terminal disco-cellular spot, — a discal transverse sub- 

 macular, irregular band,' — and a submarginal row of lunules. Fore- 

 wing : costa narrowly edged with orange from base ; inner-marginal 

 area more or less faintly tinged with orange. Hind-iving : discal band 

 much more irregular than in fore-wing, angulated sharply between first 

 median nervule and submedian nervure, and thence much narrowed to 

 inner margin ; inferior half of hind-margin and terminal third of inner 

 margin with a linear black edging ; hind-marginal black spot very 

 well defined, and immediately preceded by a conspicuous orange lunule ; 

 spot on anal- angular lobe as above. Cilia fuscous mixed with dull- 

 whitish ; inferiorly glossed with ochre-yellow. Abdomen superiorly 

 tipped with orange-red. 



^ Dull-fuscous, the discs dushj-u-1iitish ; a dull violaceous-bluish 

 gloss, chiefly in based area ; cilia grey. Fore-wing : inner-marginal area 

 whitish. Hind-wing : hind-marginal black edging thicker than in $, 

 and bordered anteriorly by a white line, thicker inferiorly ; some orange 

 as well as golden-green scales on anal-angular lobe. Under side. — 

 Much paler than in ^ ; all the markings better developed and defined. 



Head in both sexes orange-red in front, edged with white on each 

 side. 



This species comes nearest to the Oriental D. Ejnjarhas (Moore), given by 

 Hewitson {op. cit., p. 17) as typical of the genus Beudorix, but is smaller, 

 paler beneath, with blunter and less elongate wings ; the orange-red band 

 of the cJ is in the fore-wing transversely instead of longitudinally disposed, 

 and in the hind-wing very much broader costally ; while the ^ is on the 

 upper side very much paler discally and has a bluish suffusion wanting in 

 Epijai-ha.'^. 



The brilliant colouring of the ^ instantly separates Diodes from A ft fed us ; 

 but the $ s of the two butterflies are veiy much alike, and the distinguishing 

 characters of Diodes 5 are its larger size, orange-red forehead, whiter more 

 faintly blue-shot discs of upper side, and want of basal ocelli on under side 

 of hind-wings. The last character is common to both sexes, and also marks 

 D. Isocrates (Fab.). 



It was not until October 1869, when I received a $ from Mr. W. Morant, 

 that I was awai'e of the existence of this butterfly. This example was cap- 

 tured in Natal, on the Umgeni ; and in the December following I received 



