352 MORPHO. By H. Fruhstorfer. 



composed of only one (Parana) or of three divisions. In the extreme south of its range, in Eio Grande do Sul, 

 velias. occurs a small form, pelias subsp. nov. (69c), the ^ of which is decidedly lighter above, more whitish blue; 

 the $ has somewhat more distinct Avhite median dots on the forewing and more strongly marked yellow spots 

 in the submarginal area of the hindwing also. The ^ is coloured more like the ? beneath, without the con- 

 trasting grey areas of the Blumenau form and without the uniform brown-yellow of the $$ from Espiritu 

 Santo. '^The latter locality is new for anaxibia; in Staudingee's time Rio de Janeiro was regarded as the most 

 northern pohit of its occurrence. According to Mabilde it flies for 15 — 30 clays at the end of January and 

 beginning of February and the time of flight only occasionally extends to the end of March. I myself observed 

 anaxibiain large numbers in Santa Catharina, in February, particiUarly in a side valley of the Capivary River. 

 Here a crystal waterfall sprinlded the roots of the forest giants and thus provided a centre of attraction for 

 butterflies" of all sorts. As a wild beast seeks out certain set tracks in order to reach the water, so anaxibia 

 also haunts this spot daily, following up accidental clearings in order to gain the cascade, as if they also sought 

 there for cooling refreshment among the softly rustling arches of the tall bamboos shaken and bedewed by the 

 foaming water. They did not arrive in companies but singly, sailing quietly along, but nevertheless after 

 heavy rain the sand-banks before the rocks of the river were strewed with the glittering blue wings of dead 

 anaxibia and aega which the water washed up. The ? is extraordinarily rare and on hot days rests in the 

 morning hours with the wings closed in wet places in the forest-paths where it can imbibe the moisture. It is 

 then so well concealed by the red under surface, which differs but little from the surrounding ground, that 

 it is usually only noticed' by the collector when it is too late. According to von Bonninghausen anaxibia is 

 common in March on the Coreovado. — Larva on Canella and one of the Myrtaceae "Grumexama", elongate, 

 appreciably thickened in the middle, head with two lateral, not very distinctly projecting tubercles with long 

 bristles. Head shining yellowish horn-colour, covered with small rounded pitting and dots, with fine white hairs 

 and with strong red-brown bristles. Body yellow, sides densely clothed with fine woolly hairs, back gaily colour- 

 ed, the first two segments finely haired, on the third to the sixth segment long lateral tufts of bristles, then 

 a varied mixture of black, bordeaux-red and white. The 5th and 6th segments naked, the 7th and 8th 

 with a St. Andrew's cross-shaped figure, the four ends of which are adorned with gay tufts of bristles. Anus 

 with two lateral bunches of bristles and the beginning of the last segment, hke the anterior ones, armed with 

 brightly coloured hairs. Over the back runs a rather broad band with the inner edge, distinct, the outer 

 broken up into marbling. All the segments further with a double red lateral line. Underside with red-brown 

 patches between the legs. Pupa posteriorly strongly swollen, short, light green with yellowish wing-cases and 

 sharply defined yellow-white ring shortly behind the thickest part of the body. Head with two fine, pointed 

 black horns ; in general smaller, weaker, slighter than those of Morpho hercules Dalm. In the yellowish ring the 

 pupa of anaxibia also differs from that of M. catenariMS Perty. In Sta. Catharina pupation takes place approxi- 

 mately from the 15th of January to the 1st of March. 



M. menelaus, one of the historic species, received its illustrious name from Linne and well deserves it on 

 account of its imposing size, which gives it a preeminence comparable to that of that hero of ancient mytho- 

 logy, menelaus has at the same time a very wide area of distribution, for its numerous branches have spread 

 over the entire tropical region and we meet with them from Guiana to Santa Catharina and on the Pacific side 

 from Colombia to the lowlands of Bolivia, so that its range about agrees with that of M. achilles and achillaena. 

 In Colombia a new branch has developed from the old stirps, producing in amathonte Deyr. a representative 

 form which almost claims rank as a species. In contrast to achilles, however, which towards the south decreases 

 in size and loses in beauty, it is in its subtropical representatives nestira and godarti that menelaus attains the 

 maximum of its development and of its brilliance. Its extremes of variation are illustrated by our figures 69 c 

 and b for the cJc? and 71b and 70 b for the $$. On the under surface all the menelaus forms agree in 

 having the ocelli ringed \\ith red, while in amathonte they are bordered with yellow. According to the locality 

 the intensity of the proximal bordering of the ocelli varies, from a dull bronze-green tinge nearly to glossy 

 silver-white. Equally variable is the colour of the submarginal area of both wings, which may be dull grey, 

 greenish purple and even vinous. ? always considerably larger than the S, "^^'ith more or less copious \^'hite 

 dots and median bands on the forewing. $$ not so extremely rare as those of the adonis-rhetenor group. Con- 

 cerning the early stages nothing further is known than that the egg is about 2 mm. in diameter, hemispherical, 

 not shining but dull grey-white and somewhat transparent. The $ probably lays about 2 dozen of these dis- 

 proportionately large eggs, and oviposition seems to proceed slowly. Tegumen with relatively shortened uncus, 

 which is strikingly thickened basally and has an abruptly marked-off, chitinized, sharp point and two finger- 

 shaped, uniformly thick lateral processes. Valve rounded, broad with distally chitinized pad, which shows a few lar- 

 ger and many small teeth. Valve distally with long bristles. Penis long, membranous, without the pronounced teeth 

 of the 3f. achilles group, menelaus leaves its nightly hiding-place as early as 8 o'clock in the morning, when the 

 sun is only beginning to send its rays obliquely through the leafy clothing of the forest giants, and commences 

 to sail along in great undulating sweeps. Against the dark green the huge butterfly appears even larger when 



