OF THE AMAZON VALLEY. 057 



10. IIelicoxits Erato, Linntpus. 



Papilio Erato, Linn. Mus. Lud. Ulr. 231 (l/fiJ). 



Amuthnsia, Cram. Pap. Exot. t. 177' f- F. (I""")- 



Doris, Linn. Mant. 5.5G (1771)) ^'^^- 



, Cram. Pap. Exot. t. 3,}7. f. C. (1782). 



Quirina, Cram. I. c. t. fi5. f. A, R. (1779). 



The two forms, Erato and Doris, oiler a strikiiii;' contrast in their colours, one heini^ red, 

 the other hlue, and were naturally considered two ])erlectly distinct species. 1 thoutrht 

 they were such inysell', until I bred them from precisely siitiilar larv;e, which fed tof^cther 

 in one cluster on the same tree. There arc mak-s and females in about equal numbers of 

 both forms. I did not lind, in the many hundreds of examples which I examined, any 

 intermediate variety ; the sp(>cies, therefore, offers a case of dimorphism of wliich it is 

 difficult to surmise the ])urpose. This case of variation in colour may, however, heli) to 

 explain how the very diversified species of this i^enus have orit^-inated. //. Erato exists 

 in both forms throun'hout tin" delta rci^ion of the .Vmazons, Guiana, and New Granada; 

 but on tlie I'jjper Amazons, at St. Paulo, I found one of them absent, tlie blue one 

 [Doris] only existing" there; it occurred, however, in great numbers. 



The lai'va has a series of moderately long hisjnd spines on each segment of the body : 

 the head is biful ; in colour it is yellow, with narrow black bands. The chrysalis is smooth, 

 without angles; the liead, however, is pnjlonged to a point. It is suspended freely by 

 the tail. The pupa-state lasts eight days. 



11. IIelicoxius ]\[ktuakme, Erichson. 



Heliconja Metharmc, Erichson in Scliomburi^k's Rcisu in Brit, (iuiana, p. 59J. 



This species has very much the ajjpearance of //. Erato (var. Doris), l)ut it wants the 

 ])atch of l)lue at the base of the hind wings above; it has, on the other hand, a series of 

 short bluish lines near the hiiul margin, which are absent in //. Erato. It was rather 

 a common insect at Ega and St. Paulo, but did not occur at all on the Lower Amazons. 

 The species is found only in tiic interior of the forest, Hying slowly, and delightini;- to 

 settle on the scarlet blossoms of a climbing-plant; whilst II. Erato is seen oidy on the 

 skirts of the woods and in damp waste places. 



12. JlKLicoNrts MKLro.MKXK, Linna)us. 



I'npilio Milpoinenr, Linn. Sy.st. Nat. ii. 7'>'^. n- 7L 

 , Cramer, Pap. Exot. t. lUl. f. C. 



Found only in the middh; ])art of the Lower Amazon rc-uion, at (Jbydos and Santar(Ma, 

 where the di'v, hilly country of (iuiana from the north, and that of interior Brazil from 

 the south, reach the banks of Ihe river. The soil in this ])art of tlu' banks of the .\nia- 

 zons is linht and sandy; the dry and wet seasons are more strongly contrasted, and the 

 forests thinner, than in the rest of the river valley. The species also occurs throuyhout 

 Guiana, Venezuela, and in New Granada. It is (piite absent, however, from the humid 

 forests of the Amazons, Ijoth to tiie cast and to the west of the places above mentioned. 



