LYC^NID^. 113 



Abdomen larger and thicker tliau in Deudorix, especially in $. 



Hewitson rightly removed the noble Lyceenide on which he founded 

 this genus from its questionable association with Zcritis ; but he 

 admits it to be " very nearly allied to the genus Deudorix" and it is 

 perhaps hardly separable from the latter. Besides the distinctions above 

 given, Cainjs wants the rather long linear tail on each hind-wing, so 

 characteristic of Dcudorix. 



The only species known is the Al2Jhams of Cramer, a butterfly 

 which on the upper side is black, with a broad metallic-red band across 

 the wings, and on the under side chiefly pale-grey crossed by a bar of 

 darker grey and ferruginous. With the exception of Zcritis Thero 

 (Linn.), its expanse across the fore-wings is the largest among the 

 South- African Lycccnidoc, and in bulk of body it exceeds them all. 

 Though widely distributed throughout Southern Africa, it is very local 

 in its haunts, and seems more prevalent in the vicinity of Cape Town 

 than elsewhere. It occurs in the Transvaal, but has not hitherto 

 been recorded from any tropical locality. The butterfly is fond of 

 rocky elevated spots ; and several males usually sport about in com- 

 pany, taking frequent short flights of extreme rapidity; while tlie 

 female, though well able to fly, is rarely seen on the wing. 



177. (1.) Capys Alphaeus, (Cramer). 



Plate YII., f . 5 ( ? ). 



(J Papilio AJpheus, Cram., Pap. Exot., ii. t. clxxxii. ff. E, f. (1779). 

 $ Poli/ommatus Alj^hceus, Godt., Euc. Meth., ix. p. 663, n. 155 (18 19). 

 ^ Zeritis? Alpliceus, Westw., Gen. D. Lep., ii. p. 500, pi. Ixxv'ii. f. 3 (1852). 

 ^ $ Zeritis Alph(vus, Trim., Rhop. Afr. Aust., ii. p. 270, n. 168 (1866). 



Ex]j. al, ($) I in. 4 — g^ lin. ; ($) i in. 6 — i i liu. 



^ Glossy-blach, with a broad, disced, suh-metaUic red beind, from 

 fourth subcostal nervule, or from upper radial nervule of fore-wing to 

 Bubmedian nervure of hind-wing, near anal angle ; a mixed golden and 

 purplish gloss over basal region ; cilia white, with black spots at ends 

 of nervules. Fore-iving : band exteriorly indented with black on nervules, 

 and narrowed on inner margin. Hind-iving : a narrow costal blackish 

 border ; inner-marginal border hairy, dull grey ; anal angle bluntly 

 produced, marked with a red spot ; on subcostal nervure, at origin of 

 nervules, a small, suhovate, glistening space. Uis'der side. — Hind-wing 

 and border of fore-wing (except inner margin) lioarg grey, clouded with 

 darker. Fore-vnng : bright orange, paling into dull-yellowish on inner 

 margin ; at end of cell two short, ferruginous, blackish-edged, transverse 

 marks, between which is a greyish space ; between them and apex two 

 longer similar, more widely apart, crenelated streaks from costa, con- 

 verging as far as orange where the inner one ends, but the outer is 

 dimly prolonged along external edge of orange. Hind-wing : a broad, 

 central, irregular, dark-grey, ferruginous- and black-edged, transverse 

 stripe, on its inner edge deeply pierced upwardly by a streak of ground- 



