OF TIIK AMAZON VALLEY. 539 



The species of Itlioni'ia are veiy iiumerous ; lO" have already heen dcseribed, but many 

 still exist impuldished in collections. They are most numerous in tlu- c(piatorial parts of 

 America, decreasing towards citlun' tropic. One only is I'ound in llic \\'c.st India [slands, 

 and none, T believe, in ('xtra-tro[)ical North America. Two or three occur in .'50'' S. lat. ; 

 but the genus is unknown in Chili and to the south of the Ivio dc la Plata. Most of 

 the s[)eeies have curiously limited ranges; many of those inhabiting the l)aiiks of the 

 Tj)per Amazons do not (>xtend more than lOO or 2(»() miles, although there are no apparent 

 physical barriers to their dissemination ; and it is probable, from the nnnd)er of new ones 

 received in colltTtions nuule in newly explored localities, that most of the Andean vallevs 

 have their peculiar species. 



They are pmlilie insects, and gregarious in their liabits, flocks of many dillercnt sp(>cies 

 associating together. Their llight is low and weak ; and they affect only certain parts of 

 the forest, genei-ally shady hollows, where many hundreds may often bo seen sporting 

 together, althounh not an individual i> fouiul in any otiier ])art of the neighbourhood. 



1. Ttuomlv EriiiMKDiA, Cramer. 



Pajji/io Eurimedht, ("ram. Pap. V.xoi. t. lilf). f. C, D. 



— yEgle, Iliiljner, .Saiiinil. V,\. Sclini. 



A common .species at Tara and tliroughout the Lower Amazon region. Tt is oflei! f )un(l 

 in comjjany with Lei>Ui]is l^iniieVKt, to which it has so great a resemblance that the two 

 seem to b(> of the same species when on the wing. It is found .also at .'>urinam (in com- 

 pany w ith the Lep(alis) ; and I have examples from Bahia, in S. Iv Brazil, where a \ aiietv 

 of it also occurs which is widely disseminated over South and cxtra-tropieal ]5razil. 



2. Tthomlv XrsK, Cramer. 



Papilio Nise, Cram. I'ap. Kxot. t. J.il. f. I'^i. 



Selene, Cram. Pap. Kxot. t. .51,'>. f. F, G. 



— — Xeao, Iliibn. Sainml. F-x. Sclnn. 



Cramer's tigures of this species are very bad ; but T think they are recognizaI)le with 

 the assistance of the descriptions in the text, and that they rei)rescnt the same specie's as 

 that figured by Iliibner under the name of AY'.s'ci. It is an abundant species ;\t Bai'.-i, but 

 is not found anywliei'c else in the Amazon region, i have spt^ciincns of both sexes from 

 Demerara, and tiiui that they do not differ from I'ara examples; at Cayenne, lu)wever, a 

 local variety ])revails in which both wings have above a submarginal row of pale spots, 

 and the general c(dom- is nuich paler. It is the only /(/io)///a known to me in \\lucli the 

 sexes are strikingly diffeivnt in ap[)carancc. The wings of the " are more trae.spareut, 

 and much jialer in colour that those of the ?, especially the discal area of the hind wing. 

 The peculiar texture of the surface of the wings is owing to the extreme fineness of the 

 scales with wliieli they are covered. I consider /. J:ar(i (llewits. Ivxot. Ibitt. Illiomid, 

 f. 23), which occurs on tin; banks of the Xapo, a local modiflcalion of this species, several 

 connecting forms being known, 'i'he very lieautiful lohiia (llewits. /. c. f. 1)7) of New 

 Granada is probably also another local variety *. 



* /. Tutiu, Ili'wits. Kxot. IJiitt. Illtamin, ii. (i (a species allicif to 1. .W.sc), is givoii as an .Vma/oniau species 

 erroneouslv. It is a native of Venezuefa. 



