PM. 5. 71. 1913. HELICONIUS. By Dr. A. Seitz. 377 



proving thereby that it is only at the limits of its range of distribution or outside of their normal time of appea- 

 rance that they become I'eally scarce. In curious contrast with tlio often enormous commonness of tlie Heliconii- 

 wae, is our very deficient knowledge of the earlier stages, which seems to be due, as also in the equally common 

 and equally little known larvae of the Indian Euploeids, to the fact that the caterpillars are living upon trees. A few 

 isolated observations, however, which I have been able to gather, are of interest. The eggs are of a peculiar 

 bottle-shape, produced by the originally spindle-shaped ovum being affixed to the leaves endwise, having there- 

 by its lower extremity comjDressed. As they are always deposited singly, the larvae live also singly and widely 

 dispersed. I observed narmea, phyllis and apseudes fluttering always at noon around the vines of Passiflorae, 

 depositing their eggs, in the same maimer as the allied Nymphalid Cohienis julia, on the under surface of the 

 vines, with the wings fully extended. 



The larvae are covered with spines, two of which, placed immediately behind the head, are longest. 

 Also the pupa is armed both at the back and in front with fine, hook-shaped si^ines, that of apse.tules with 

 a heavy crest of fine ventral spines. The second and third abdominal segments project distally, and the head is 

 frequently provided with two wing-shajjed appendages above the eyes, generally called ,, hare's ears". The du- 

 ration of the pupal stage varies greatly; as a rule it is only 8 — 14 days, but may, during the dry season, be very 

 nuicli prolonged. 



The life-time of the imago may be quite considerable; for I have seen certain individuals showing 

 some characteristic defect, daily during four weeks flying at about the same place; I observed their lovely 

 fresh colours fading, and the delicate downy coverijig of the body give way to the chitinous gloss of the bare 

 thorax. It .seemed, moreover, curiously obvious that, unless there was some good reason for their flying away, 

 they remained steadily in the same locality, and in small openings I could observe day by day the love-sick q,^ fly- 

 ing up and down in that characteristic fashion which I have elsewhere called "promenading". This habit of 

 flying for hours or half days at a time up and down for a certain distance, turning sharply about at a certain 

 point and returning the same way, is shared by many species of butterflies, but is nowhere quite so distinct as 

 in the genera Eueides and Heliconius, and a few isolated Indian species ; I have observed it especially in Eueides 

 aliphera, dianassa, Metamorpha dido and Cethosia nietiieri. 



Many Hehconiids fly all the year round, since in South-America, on account of the more ecpially distri- 

 buted rains, seasonal forms, which are quite common in India, are as a rule not observed. In Central and Sou- 

 thern Brazil (Bahia, Rio, Santos), however, I found, that in the wet spring-time, particularly in the beginning 

 of November, aberrative forms with more profusely black markings were more frequent than in the drier late 

 sommer. But it is not impossible that different conditions jorevail at the more arid westcoast. The genus 

 Heliconius s. s. is not at all represented in the rainless districts of Chile; otherwise its range of distribution is 

 rather uniform, so that, nothwithstanding the great number of forms, there are but few localities known, where 

 more than 8 — 12 Heliconius and 2 — 3 Eueides may be found at the same time ; for the numerous forms are distri- 

 buted over an immense region, and, a few far-spreading species excepted, the greater number inhabit a very 

 limited area. 



This fact permits us to hope that a large number of good subspecies may still be discovered; this is al- 

 most certain to be the case with regard to the so-called intermediate forms. OBEETHltR in his beautiful Work *) 

 has shewn with the help of a very large number of illustrations the gradual changes which the subspecies, 

 races and aberrations undergo, and, although the position of some forms may seem somewhat forced, still the 

 comparison of varieties and local forms clearly illustrates the manner in which ceitain forms entirely different 

 from one another in their extremes, may be proved to be allied to each other by their interuiediate forms. 

 On the other hand, the many complications that are met with in the study of said treatise, render it advisable 

 not to go beyond the purpose of our present Work, but, refraining from all critical remarks, to limit ourselves 

 to enumerating and characterizing the known forms, without entering upon the pros and contras of their speci- 

 fic rights. The great abundance of figures by which we illustrate no less than 220 forms, renders it superfluous 

 to give a tabular division into chief and subgroujjs, sections or subgenera **). 



1. Genus: Heliconius Latr. 



1 ; Rather large-sized butterflies of most characteristic appearance. Head large, frons broad, eyes large, 



distented, naked. Palpi fringed with hair, jnoderately long; tongue always well developed; thorax narrow 

 a.nd elongate, slender, but considerably stronger than in the delicate Danaid species of the Ithomiinae which they 

 resemble in their outward appearance. Antennae very long, imiformly thin, at the tip but slightly thickened; 

 forelegs aborted to mere brushes, the middle and hindlegs stouter and far shorter than in the Ithomiinae. 

 Abdomen cylindrical and rather slender, differing in length, scarcely projecting beyond the tornus. Forc^wings 



*) Variation des Hel. tlit-lxiope et vesta. Bt. d"!6nt. Livr. 21. 



**) The following treatist' has been written some years ago, and it is over twelve months ago that the ]ilates illustra- 

 ting Hcrtcoiiiiis and Eueides were iJiiblished. Jleanwhile descriptions of several new forms have appeared, the more im])ortaiit 

 of which could be incorporated with the text : the rest, however, will be published in the supplementary notes on the Xy»t}jha- 

 lidac. 



V 48 



