378 HELICONIUS. By Dr. A. Seitz. 



very long, much broader at the apex, rather soft and always displaying gay, often very bright colours. Only of 

 one species (Helic. erato) I know an aberratiA^c form having the forewings entirely black, without any markings. 

 Hindwings oval \\ith evenly rounded, very seldom feebly undulate termen. As in the Indian Eujjloea, we find 

 on the inner margin of the forewings beneath and in the costal area of the upper side of the hindwings a fric- 

 tion surface, frequently displaying a silky gloss, but never any tufts or pencils of hair as are characteristic 

 of many Ithoniiinae. The subcostal is five-branched, the system of radials complete and intact, displaying 

 no tendency to dissolve or give way to an higher development of the costal or median systems of veins. In 

 the forewing the cell is mostly broad and about half the length of the wing, in the hindwing short and narrow; 

 the former frec[uently has near the base a median spur; the submedian is single at the base; but the hind- 

 wings lack the anal fold found in most other Nymphalids, serving to receive the abdomen when at rest. 



All the species of Heliconius eagerly visit flowers, many displaying a decided predilection far certain 

 blossoms; they are anything but shy, and even when frightened, fly so .slowly that they are without any diffi- 

 culty captured unless they fly too high. Once in the net, they generally keep quite still, so that it is easy to have 

 perfect specimens. The colouring is mostly yellow, brown-yellow or red ujion a black ground, more rarely bhie 

 and very seldom green. The pupa often with silvery spots. 



narcaea. Yi, n&rcatSiGodt. {= eucTSbte Hbn.) {12 a,). The typical form is that from Southern Brazil, distinguished 



by its large size, a white apical spot, lemon-yellow subapical band, and brown-yellow, black-marked discus 



connexa. of the forewings; hindwing with a bright yellow longitudinal band. — ab. connexa (72 a) ab. nov. is the 

 name I ha.ve given to the small, generally dull coloured form having the brown-yellow discal marldngs of the 

 forewing reduced to such a degree that the subapical band is sepa.rated from it by a black transverse bar. — 

 polychrous. In ab. polychrous Fldr. (72 b) the black and lemon-yellow tints are greatly increased, with a corresponding 

 reduction of the brown-yellow. — As in all the brightlj' coloured Heliconius, there occur, especially towards 

 the end of longer periods of rain, sjiecimens suffused with black, offering all possible grades and transitions 

 to the typical form ; in other species they have received special names, as f . i. suhnuhilus Stick, and obscurior 

 Stick, (belonging to novatus), but unjustly, as they cannot be either strictly defined nor limited to one 

 satis, species or subspecies. — ab. satis We^Jm. (= infuscata Stgr.) (72 a) resembles ty|)ical narcaea, but on the hind- 

 wing the longitudinal band is not pale yellow, but brown-yellow, and the apical spot of the forewings mostly 

 flavomacu- suffused with fuscous. — flavomaculatus Weym. (72 a) refers to a local form distinguished by having the api- 

 latus. pj^j gpQ^ qJ ^Y\e forewing lemon-yellow; I have never taken this form together with narcaea or any one of its aber- 

 rations with white apical spots; it is only found in Central Brazil, as f. i. near Bahia and in Espiritu Santo, 

 together with the likewise yellow-spotted Mechanitis nessaea; narcaea, on the other hand, flies exclusively in 

 Southern Brazil, in company of Mechanitis lysimnia which also has white spots. — • Besides greatly varying in 

 colour, the sjiecies also deviates in the markings which may vary in either direction. Onlj' one form shall be spe- 



vhyscoa. cially named: ab. physcoa a6. mot'. (72 b). This form which I took occasionally at Santos, where it was, however, 

 always scarce, has the yellow band on the hindwing very much broader, which enables one to distinguish it 

 even when flying, nothwdthstanding its great resemblance in colouring to polychrous. ■ — H. narcaea is one of 

 the commonest Heliconius and butterflies altogether. It is limited to the eastern parts of Central and Sou- 

 thern Brazil, the form flavomaculatus occurring more in the North, eucrate in the South. Localities where, 

 as it is stated in "Tierreich" (Vol. 22, p. 40), both occur side by side, are not known. Occasionally they come 

 even into the gardens, and are found in the suburbs of Rio. — The egg is conoidal, lemon-yellow; the larva 

 feeds on varioiis species of Passiflora; it is brown-yellow, later on whitish with black ma^rkings and black spines, 

 those at the head longer and slightly curving backwards. Pupa with rather long wing-shaped appendages at 

 the head, and black dorsal spines, yellow-brown, ma.rked with fuscous; abdomen adorned at the sides with faint 

 silvery spots. The imago is found throughout the year, without any interruption, in open spots, along garden- 

 hedges or bamboo-walls, sipping the honey from a great variety of flowers, generally keeping the wings clo.sed, 

 whereas other Heliconius, as f. i. phyllis, keep them generally wide open; the species is exceedingly common 

 and, unless flying too high, easy to capture. 



ismenius. H. ismetiius Latr. (= fritschei Moschl.) (72 b) is found in Colombia, whei'e it is in certain localities very 



common; it is an exact copy of Melinaea messatis (33 d) with whicli it associates, undergoing all the variations 



immoderata. in colouring to which this Danaid species is subject. — ab. immoderata Sticfi. has on the hindwing an uninter- 



defasciatus. rupted, black median band of grea.ter width than in typical ismenius, whereas in ab. defasciatus A'^ews/. this band 



has been reduced to mere traces left at the apex of the hindwing. — Intermediate l)etween these two is 



fasciaius. ab. fasciatus Godm. and Salv., which is found farther north, in southern Central America; here the black band on 



iaunus. the hindwings is complete, but not increased in width. — fautius Stgr. (72 c), likewise found in Colombia together 



hermanni. with the tyjoical form, has on the forewing the apical spots yellow instead of white; — in hernianni Riff, these 



are greatly reduced in size. In the (J we still find traces of the white macular band traversing the wing behind 



the cell. Not scarce, but local. 



ielchinia. H. telchinia Dbl. (72 b). This, the largest sjiecies oi Heliconius known, is by most authors united with 



ismenius; but, altliough connected with it by intermediate forms, it is of quite different appearance. The dis- 



