340 Mr. Roland Trimen on 



In December, 1869, Mr. Walter Morant sent me the 

 first evidence of the occurrence of a Libythea in Natal, 

 in the shape of a coloured drawing of a 2 taken by him 

 on the 9th of that month at Avoca, Victoria County; but 

 I heard nothing more of the species until 1873, Vv'hen the 

 late Mr. E. C. Buxton met with it near D'Urban, and 

 sent me a photograph and a much-injured ? specimen. 

 Mr. J. H. Bowker, F.Z.S., in September, 1878, landed 

 at Quilimane, and there took six examples of the same 

 species, which he forwarded to the South African Museum ; 

 and he and Mr. P. F. Payn, of D'Urban, have subse- 

 quently taken several specimens of both sexes at Pine- 

 town, Illovo, and other localities in the coast region of 

 Natal. From these latter specimens, mostly in fine con- 

 dition, my description is drawn up. 



IMr. Morant noted his example as taken " on the top of 

 a small tree in a Avaggon-road through thick bush;" while 

 Mr. Bowker describes the individuals captured by himself 

 in April, 1879, as taking short flights, like those of a 

 " Skipper," from one flower to another. 



Hab. — D'Urban, Umgeni Railway Station, Pinetown, 



Avoca, and Illovo, Natal. Colls. S. Afi-ican 



Museum, E. C. Buxton, P. F. Payn, and R. 



Trimen. 

 Quilimane, East Afi-ica. Coll. S. African 



Museum. 



Family LYCiENIDiE, Steph. 



Genus Myrina, Fab. 



Myrina ficedula* sp. nov. 



Loxura Alcides, Boisd., Sp. Gen. Lep., — Planches, 

 No. 22, f. 3 (1836). Trimen (pars), Rhop. Afr. 

 Aust. ii. p. 219, n. 125 (1866). 



Exp. al. (^).l in. 2\-1 lin. ; (?) 1 in. 6- 7* lin. 



Black, loith very large discal space of intense metallic 

 ultramarine-blue in both wings ; forexving with an apical 

 Imid-marginal ferrugirious patch. Forewing : blue occu- 

 pies inner-mai'gin and discoidal cell, but is rather Avidely 



*■ Tlie larva of this insect feeds on Ileus natalensii, and also on the 

 cultivated fig (F. ), and the butterfly is itself fond of sucking 



the ripe figs. 



