24 LLOYD'S NATURAL HISTORY. 



MESOSEMIA PHILOCLES. 



Papilio philocks, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. x. i. p. 483, no. 155 

 (1758) ; id. Mus. Lud. Ulr. p. 351 (1764) ; Clerck, Icones, 

 pi. 45, fig. 3 (1764) ; Cramer, Pap. Exot. ii. pi. 184, figs. 



D, E(i779)- 

 Erycina philocles^ Godart, Encycl. Melh. ix. p. 381, no. 80 



(1823). 



Mesose?nia philodes^ Bates, Journ. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. ix. 

 p. 373 (1868). 



11iis and several closely-allied local forms or representative 

 species, found in different parts of South America, have longer 

 and more pointed fore-wings than is usual in the genus ; this 

 character is most conspicuous in the males, in which the 

 fore-wings are black, with a short bluish-white band between 

 the central ocellus and the hind-margin, and the hind-wings 

 are also more or less broadly bordered with bluish-white 

 (the breadth varying in the different forms), but the base is 

 always brown. The female is slaty-grey, with blackish trans- 

 verse lines. There is a testaceous ring round the central eye 

 o^ the fore-wings, and the hind-margin of the hind-wings is 

 more or less broadly bordered with white. 



As a representative of this genus we have figured 



MESOSEMIA BIFASCIATA. 



{Plate XX X VI II . Fig. 2.) 



Mesosemia hifasciata, Hewitson, Equatorial Lepidoptera, p. 94 



(1877)- 



Upper side, Male. — Blue-black; both wings crossed beyond the 

 middle by two broad parallel bands of indigo-blue. Anterior 

 wing with the usual black discal spot bordered with blue, and 

 marked by three minute white spots. 



Underside. — Dark brown. Anterior wing indigo-blue in 

 middle; the discal spot as above, with a short black bancj 



