MORPHO. By H. Fruhstorfer. 335 



cially some for which Dr. Stafdixger was responsible. I have to thank Dr. Jordan most sinoerely for his 

 valuable help. 



Genus: Morplio F. 



Two groups: a) Hindwing with projecting tail-like a]i])eii(lage or dee])ly sinuate. Upper surface without 

 metallic sheen; tegumen with unusually broad lamellae. Iphimedeia nom. nov. 



b) Hindwing as a rule rounded or only slightly waved, upper surface (only one exception) with l)rilliant 

 reflection: tegumen with finger-shaped excrescences. Morpho. 



Group Iphimedeia Fruhst. 



Species without metallit^ glo.ss on tlie iippei' surfiice, wliirh \ arie.s from greenish bine to wliitish in all gradations. 

 The colouring very inconstant, tlie oxtrenios .sometimes not e\cn confined to any ri.\<'d loi-alit\'. Tpiiei' ilLscoccllular long, 

 middle only inapjn'eciably concave (i. e. proximally cm'vcd), the Ic wi r straight and iilaced at light angles to the anterior 

 median. Cell of the forewing very narrow at the a|ie\. I'ncus liroad, lateral clasjis strikingly flat, valve without distal 

 p lints. Most species love the simshine, ascend to a great height and fly cx< lusively round the fo|is of tall trees. 



M. hercules is confined to central and southern Brazil, where it occurs from Espiritu Santo to Sta. 

 ("atharina and ascends from the lowlands to about SOO — ItJOO m. Flies chiefly in March. Concerning the early 

 stages I am indebted to the detailed account furnished by Herr Zikan, who has bred M. hercules from the 

 larva in Minas Geraes and whose report of liis breeding we here reprint : 



'•J/, hercules has one generation and flies in February and ^larch. The eggs are laid on the leaves of a 

 climbing plant (Cipo) with tliick hard leaves (somewhat resembhng those of the coffee-tree) and yellow fruit. 

 This Cipo becomes rather thick and grows even in the highest trees. It seems to me to prefer dry ground and 

 the tops of moinitains. When small the larvae rest closely pressed together on a leaf which they cover with 

 webas they do also the twigs on which they crawl to their food. I found them in numbers varying from 17 to 150 

 specimens: once even about 30(), but I suspect that the latter came from more than one batch of eggs. I 

 noticed that the butterfly prefers to lay its eggs in the decuml^ent tips of the Cipo, sometimes even cpiite low, 

 about the height of a man and even lower. Others again I found very high, so that it recjuired some cou- 

 rage to fetch them down from the giddy height. The first larvae (150 specimens) were found on the 30th Sep- 

 tember 1907. Most of them were moulting. They were about 1 U ^'m- i''^ length, apparently after the first moult, 

 as they imdervvent four more moults in captivity (including pupation). On the 13 October the first two larvae 

 performed the second moult in captivity. When collected the colour of the larvae was red, body hairy, dorsal 

 line lighter, with hair-tufts on both sides, the longest hairs being wliite. Head large, dark red, nearly black. 

 After this second moult the hairs became denser and longer, especially at the sides. By 30 October all but 

 twelve had moulted; four specimens had died, being stung by dipterous parasites. On the 10 November 1 

 noticed the first larva had comiileted the third moult; by the end of November most of them had moulted. 

 Before the fourth moult, that is before pupation, the larva changes to a dirty green colour. I found the first 

 larva in this condition on the 17 December and the first pitjia the 31 December; on the 27 January the last 

 larva pupated. From about 1200 larvae I obtained 800 pupae. Very many of the former were stung, without 

 exception by flies. Others again dried up and went mouldy. The pupa is green, ringed with white. The colour 

 scarcely changes ajipreciably before the emergence of the butterflies. The pupal stage lasts in the ^>^ 45 — ^52 

 days, in the $9 5" — 60 days. The first butterfly emerged on the 4 February 1908, the last on the 21 March. 

 In addition to the $$ having a longer pupal period than the (^o, their larvae also appear to pupate later. 

 For from the 19 to the 25 of February only 20 $$ emerged; whilst from the 2(3 February to the 1 March only 

 9 i^(^ emerged, against some 170 $$. About 50% of the pupae died, mostly dried up. When one broke 

 them open they were mouldy inside. I lost a large number of larvae through their being too crowded, other 

 larvae disturbing and knocking them down when they were pupating. Although I found the larvae of this 

 butterfly in such abundance I have only seen about a dozen butterflies in the open. They fly higli like J/o)-pAo 

 nestira and not like M. achillaenn, which keeps about 1 m. above the ground. 



With regard to the larvae I may add that it is best only to take them in the adult stage; when collected 

 young they do not grow properly, as every time they are given fresh food they spin over it so as to get a foot- 

 hold, and in this way much nourishment is wasted. From those larvae which I collected when small I 

 obtained quite small butterflies, while those which were taken large yielded large and more brightly coloured 

 specimens. The hairs of the larva easily become detached, penetrate into soft places in the skin (between the 

 fingers, etc.) and cause irritation. The larvae live gregariously until pitpation. They feed at night; in the adult 

 stage they sit during the day underneath the Cipo or on the trunk of the tree I'ound which is winds. When 

 small they sit on the spun-up leaves". 



The pupa differs from that of 31. <i.iinxihi<i in the longer, more robust form, the more develo})ed liorns 



