561. MR. 11. W. IJATKS ON THE HELICONIDE LEPIDOI'TERA 



8. EuEiDES Alii'IIIcjia, (jodai't. 



H///ti/io A/ijj/icr/i, (Jodt. lOiicycloiK'dit; Metliodiquf, t. i\. [). 21(). 



A widely distrihiitcid si)ccics, being found over nearly the whole of tropical America. 

 It seems to be constant throughout. I met with it at St. Paulo. 



Sul)fa,mily AClUilN^. 



(Jeiius AciL'EA, Fabricius. 



1. AciLKA TuAiiiA, Linna-us. 



Pajji/ifj TIkiUu, Linn. Syst. Nat. ii. 7-''7> "■ ('>! ■ 

 , Cramer, Paj). Kxot. t. 21(1. f. A. 



T took (at Tani) only one individual of this soh' species of yicnca found in the Amazon 

 region. 



hh\Pi;ANATION OF Till-: I'LATES. 



Till' Plalo.-s arc dcnitrnod to show a few e.\ani[)les out of a jrriat niinilur of iniinctic analo;;ies Ijctwceii 

 \arious Lepidopterous insects and the lleiiconid.e. Tiie insects lifi'ured lielonj;- to four families, very 

 widely dissimilar in sirnetnre and metamorphosis: Lcjilalis (lam. I'leridu'), l)io/j/is (Bombycidie, Moths), 

 S/ii/ttch/is (fam. Kryeinida), Ithoiiiiii, Afrchanitis, Mutlionii (fam. liclieonida'). The figures also illustrate 

 the process of the origination of a mimetic s])ecies through variation and natural .selection, llea.sons have 

 been given (p. .OO 1 el scq.) for considering the S[)ecies of Lcptd/ix and D/o/tfis, amongst others, as having 

 been adajited by this process to the species tA' Slaluc/itis and the genera of llelieonid;e — the colours being 

 brought into exact resend)I,uiee by the .^itrcessive preservation of such naturally arising variations as 

 tended more and more to icsemble. One species only, Lcji/a/ix yV/ewwor, furnishes a good exam])le of the 

 process, it being one which, by a rare chance, shows in its existing varieties the |)ro('ess in ditferent stages 

 of completion. 'i"he figures indicated by a simple numeral re])resent the i/ild/i/cil forms ; those marked a, 

 the sjjccies to which they are adapted. 



I'l.ATi.; liV. 



Fig. 1*. /.i///(i/is 'riiraiior (llewitson). — Inhabits C'upari, r..'( ' \\'. long. 



Fig. 1 (I. llhiiiiiid Flora (Cramer). — Iidiabits Cupari, ^tb" VV. long. ; also the mouth of the Amazons and 



Surinam. 



Neither of these forms is found further westward on the Upjier Ama/.ons, where the follo\\ing 



allied species and varieties alone occur. 

 Fig. '_*. I.i'iildlis T/in/iioi', xnr. Mf/aiioi'. — St. I'aulo, ll])per .\nia/.ons, (il) W. long. 

 Fig. 2(1. Itltuiiiht Uuf(j(i (llewitson). — Upper Amazons, from 5s to ",0" \V. long. 



* The spceiiiicii of 7/. Tlifdiiw in the Biitisli Aliiscmn ciillcetion, which served Mr. llewitson for his figure of the 

 s|iecios, is \civ iiiiich larger lli.ui the one lij^'uicd in this IMate. IJiit the Lrptii/lih-x arc apt to vary very iiiueli 

 ill size. 



