350 MORPHO. By H. Fetjhstorfer. 



Hhn. (66 b), probably came from the state of Rio de Janeiro, although according to von BoNNrNGHAUSEN 

 the species does not occur in the town of Rio itself, but only in the north-west of the provmce of this name, 

 and is probably distributed as far as Sta. Catharina. The $ was fust figured by Staudhstgee; it differs from our 

 figure {mellinia, 66 b) in the darker colouring, the smaller transcellular patches of the forewing and the far 



mellinia. larger subiuarginal spots of the hindwing. — mellinia Fruhst. differs from $$ from Rio de Janeiro in the 

 more extended black border of both wings and the nuicli more broadly black thickening of the veins of the 

 forewing. In addition on the forewing in the broader black spot at the apex of the cell and the larger yellow 

 circumcellular patches. Lower median at its base, sub median in the middle, bordered with broad patches 

 of black scales. The hindwing darker red-bro\Mi. Distal border more broadly black with the yellowish roimded 



bisanthe. patches considerably smaller. — bisatlthe Fruhst. (66 b), with the t^'pe from Sta. Catharina, describes the 

 southern form of the collective species, in the $ recognizable at once by the almost uniformly large yellowish 

 submarginal spots, which mostly' extend from the anal angle to the apex, whilst in aega and mellinia they 

 do not reach beyond the median part of the forewing. The cu'cumcellular spots are larger and lighter. The black 

 spot before the apex is narrower, more diffuse, and only extends to the middle of the anterior wall of the cell. 

 The ground-colour of the yellow $$ nnich paler, on the hindwing \\ithout brown tinge ; the submarginal patches 

 of the forewing more rmiform, forming a more complete row. The $? are among the most variable Morphids 

 and three principal forms fnay be distinguished, including the normal (most commonly occurring), predominantly 

 brown-yellow $, analogous to that of mellinia, and probably the ancestral form, still recalling the Brassolids, 

 mixta, thus phyletically the oldest. Besides this we have mixta Fruhst., with partial blue reflections on the forewing 

 -pseudo- (66 b), and fmally pseudocypris Fruhst. (66 c), in which the yellow-brown gives place to a dark or light blue, 

 cypns. which overspreads the whole upper surface. Whilst the (^(J before me from Rio de Janeiro, Parana and Blumenau 

 show inter s e no differences worth mentioning, the ^(^ of bisanthe from Rio C4rande do Sul can be at once 

 separated from their more northern representatives by the predominantly white-grey instead of purple-brown 

 under surface, which in addition is traversed by more sharply defined, i. e. more strongly black-bordered and 

 consequently more distinct, grey-white or pale yellow longitudinal bands. Also the bisanthe $$ are paler yellow- 

 beneath and in the form pseudocypris with more prominent light areas than in mellinia. Thus in the north 

 Espiritu Santo with an almost uniform hot, damp climate all the year round, which produces a continuous, 

 vast forest area covering the still almost unkno^\•n interior of the province, has a deep-coloured, one might 

 say rainy-season form. Rio Grande do Sul, on the contrary, with pronounced separation of the seasons and 

 great extremes in temperature, produces, on account of the dry prairies extending from Argentina, which restrict 

 the primeval forest to a relatively narrow tract in the eastern slopes of the coast-mountains, a pale race with 

 all the characteristics of a product of a dry region. ^VLibilde says that bisanthe occurs for 10 — 15 days in the 

 spring and 20 — 40 clays in the autumn on forest-paths. Of the rare $$ about 10 — 15 are found to 1000 cJc?. 

 BuEMEiSTER knew an ae^a race with blue $$ from the Missiones in the state of Argentina, discovered there 

 by Carlos Berg. 



M. rhetenor, already named by Cramer the "blue elongate Atlas butterfly", has the apex of the fore- 

 wing more produced than any other Morphid species; a characteristic, however, that partially disappears in 

 the ?, which more resembles that of cypris. The S is one of the most brilliantly glossy species and has 

 only a quite inconsiderable black apical spot and a white costal patch on the forewing. The under surface 

 is noteworthy for the contrast between the black basal area and a brown distal region, which are separated 

 by a median band of a more or less pure white and of varymg extent according to the locality. Both wings 

 rhetenor. beneath show brown rounded eye-spots entirely without white pupils. — rhetenor Cr. (68 b) hihabits Guiana 

 and its SS are much smaller than those from other localities. The under surface of the o^ must at the same 

 time be described as the dullest in colour. The eye-spots of the hindwing renuxin light red-brown and the 

 median area is dull grey. The very rare $, which we figure from an example in coll. Frtjhstorfer, exceeds 

 the S in expanse and is strikuig chiefly on account of the contrast of the deep velvety bro^n cell in the fore- 

 eusehes. wing and of the submarginal area against the ochreous median area. — ■ eusebes Fruhst. inliabits the Amazon 

 region, where Michaelis observed it at Obidos in August and September, and Dr. Hahnel at Iquitos and 

 Jurimaguas. According to Dr. Hahnel (Iris 1890, p. 235) eusebes always flies at a great height and energeti- 

 cally, mounting from 3 to 6 m. with an undulating flight, and can only occasionally be attracted to fly down 

 on to wings of Morpho menelaus laid on the ground. The $ settles on wet places on the banks of rivers (a 

 habit which I also observed m M. anaxibia in Sta. Catharina). When disturbed they only fly away slowly, 

 in contrast to the SS- The c?c? emit a smell of sulphur (Hahkel 1. c, p. 308). S considerably lai"ger than 

 rhetenor rhetenor Cr. from Surinam, with the black at the apex of the forewing somewhat more extended and 

 with the first beginnings of the yellow spotting which distinguishes cacica Stgr. Under surface brighter, fresher- 

 coloured, with more delicate grey-white median area and more distinct, darker brown, incomplete ocelli on the 

 hindwing. A comparison of the figure of our rhetenor $ with that of eusebes $ given by Staudinger, 

 Exot. Schmetterlinge pi. 70, shows the following differences : ground-colour of the eusebes $ light, almost canary- 

 yellow, without any brown admixture. Transcellular spot nearly twice as broad, all the distal patches 

 likewise more intensive and finer yellow, isolated, and divided into two instead of three rows as in rhetenor. 



