2 12 SOUTH-AFRICAX LUTTERFLIES. 



with Hack ncrvular inteoTuptions. Fore-vnng : costal border more or 

 less thickly sprinkled with blackish atoms, especially near base ; border 

 rather broad at apex, usually marked exteriorly by linear inter-nervular 

 ochre-yellow marks (which become continuous below third or second 

 median nervule), but usually broken into separate spots below third 

 or second median nervule ; above cell two or three small spots, 

 in it generally two or three others centrally situated, below it two 

 (of which the inner is sometimes obsolete), one on each side of third 

 median nervule. Hind-wing : a spot on costa before middle ; on hind- 

 marginal edge a series of minute usually sublinear nervular spots. 

 Under side. — Same colour as on upper side, hut cveryivhere, except on 

 inner-marginal area of fore-vnng, thinly sprinlied with hlachish atoms ; 

 common to both wings, an irregular discal row, and a regular sub- 

 marginal row of small blackish spots, and a series of minute nervular 

 spots on hind-marginal edge ; terminal disco-cellular spots as on upper 

 side. Forc-unng : blackish border Avanting, except as slightly repre- 

 sented by the spots of submarginal row, of which the lowest spot is 

 much larger than the rest. Hind-wing : four very small spots near 

 base, viz., two above, one in, and one below cell ; one or two similar 

 spots in cell, farther from base ; two larger spots below cell, one on 

 each side of first median nervule. 



$ Like $, except that the spots generally arc smaller and fainter, and 

 that in fore-wing the costal irroration is thinner, and the apical hind- 

 marginal border almost or entirely ohsolete. Under side. — As in ^, but 

 irroration fainter and sparser. 



The nearest allies of this species are P. Amcnaida and P. Botha, 

 Hewits., from Angola and Gaboon respectively, but both possess larger, 

 differently situated spots, and a broad blackish border to both wings. 

 P. Abraxas, Westw., associated by Hewitson (pp. eit., p. 119) with 

 Tro2ncalis as a variety of the ^, has every appearance of being quite 

 distinct ; it is yellowish-white, with both discal and marginal spots 

 large and rounded, and is recorded from several parts of Western 

 Africa, 



I met with this curious butterfly not uncommonly on the coast of Xatal in 

 1867, from the end of February to the end of March. It flies very slowly, 

 always frequenting shady spots on the edge of woods. It is usual to find a 

 good many specimens about some particular spot ; at the Itongati River I met 

 with quite a company of them settled on stems of grass, and flitting deliberately 

 about in an avenue just at sunset. On almost all other occasions of noticing 

 this species, I took them while flying slowly in bushy places at some height 

 (10 to 15 feet) from the ground. Among examples received from Colonel 

 Bowker Avere several noted as captured near D'Urban in the months of Novem- 

 ber and December. 



Hopfl'er {op. cit.) remarks that the three specimens {^) which he describes 

 from Querimba were considerably smaller than Boisduval's from !Natal, mea- 

 suring only I in. i lin. across the fore-wings. 



