1920] Holland, Lepidoptera of the Congo 161 



They agree perfectly with specimens taken on the hills back of Mombasa, 

 of which I have a long suite, and with series of specimens coming from 

 Natal and other more southern localities. By selecting from the mass 

 all those which were caught at Medje about the middle of the year, I 

 discover that the latter as a group are not only generallj^ larger but have 

 the transverse mesial band of the primaries a little straighter and 

 narrower than the other lot of specimens. Comparing them with long 

 suites of specimens coming from Cameroon, Sierra Leone, and the 

 valley of the Ogove, I discover that the specimens from Medje are iden- 

 tical in appearance with these, and that there is a slight l^ut constant 

 difference between the whole assemblage of specimens from the wooded 

 tropics and those which come from the steppes of the east and the 

 south. B}^ pinning out fifty of each of the forms selected according 

 to locahty, as I have done, the different facies of the two lots 

 becomes very apparent and striking to the eye, even more so than 

 when only two individuals are compared with each other. 



(166) 5. Neptis seeldrayersi Aurivillius 



Neptis seeldrayersi Aurivillius, 1895, Ent. Nachr., p. 379; 1898, Rhop. J^^thiop., 

 p. 167, PL I, fig. 7; 1912, Seitz, Gross-Schmett., XIII, p. 200, PI. XLviiid. 



Eight specimens, all taken at Medje in July and August. There is 

 some individual variability. In one specimen the fourth white spot 

 reckoning from the costa is obsolete in the mesial band and gives the 

 wing a different facies. The species is not uncommon farther west and 

 we have it in some numbers from the region of the Ogove River. 



(167) 6. Neptis nysiades Hewitson 



Neptis nysiades Hewitson, 1868, Exot. Butt., IV, Neptis, PI. i, figs. 3, 4. 



Six males and four females, all caught at Medje, the dates of cap- 

 ture including April, July, August, and September. 



(168) 7. Neptis metanira Holland 

 Neptis metanira Holland, 1892, Ent. News, III, PL ix, fig. 6. 



AurivilHus, in the 'Rhopalocera ^Ethiopica,' expresses the opinion 

 that this form is simply an aberration of the preceding species. He may 

 be right but, as the insect has a very different facies from A^. nysiades 

 on the upper side, though I agree that it closely resembles nysiades 

 on the under side, and, as it is constantly turning up and we have quite a 

 good series from Cameroon and other parts, I am inclined to let the 

 matter stand as I originally put it until the test of breeding shall sho^ 

 that Dr. Aurivillius is correct in his surmise. 



One male, taken at Medje, August 13, 1910. 



