HELICONIUS. By Dx-. A. Seitz. 379 



cal area of the forewing, and the ]iin(h\iiigs are those of a gigantic narcaea ab. satis (72 a), but the very ])road 



apex of the forewings has two rows of sulphur-yellow spots. From Colombia to Honduras. — clarescens JMr.. darescens. 



from the Volcano of Chiriqui and Panama, lacks on the forewing the dash connecting the discal spot with the 



base, and the median band on the hindwing has almost entirely disappeared. Locally very common. 



H. hippola Hew. (72 c). Ground-colour lu'iglit rufous, both wings «ith quite narrow black termen, the hippoU. 

 spots on the forewing greatly reduced. — lyrcaeus \Veij)n.. probably from Peru, like the preceding, has the lyrcaeus. 

 black spots somewhat larger, the median band on the hindwings, however, reduced to mere traces. — The spe- 

 cies seems to be very local or to occur only in places whence we do not often receive material, for it is very rare 

 in collections. 



H. numata Cr. (= pione Hhn.). Easily recognized by the uncommonly broad black termen of the numata. 

 hindwings ^\hich, together with the likewise very broad median band, gives the hindwing an almost black appea- 

 rance. Guayana. — ab. guiensis Riff- has the median band of the hindwing club-shaped, beginning quite guiensis. 

 narrow at the anal margin, and widening towards the apex; British Guayana. — In melanops Wei/m. (72 c) melanops. 

 the median band of the hindwing confluesces with the black termen, rendering the lower half of the wing entirely 

 black; likewise from Guayana. — superioris BtJr. (= maecenas Weym.) has on the forewing the oblique band supmoris. 

 narrower or broken up into spots, the median band of the hindwing separated from the black termen by a streak 

 of the brown-yellow ground-colour. From Amazonas. — A similar form is gordius Weym. (72 d) from the Up- gordius. 

 per Amazon, birt here the apex of the forewing is very broadly and contiguously sulphur-yellow, spotted with bi'own- 

 yellow. — ab. isabellinus Bates (72 c) has the sulphur-yellow apical half of the forewing tinged with brown- isabrllinus. 

 yellow, very much like the ground-colour; in mavors Weym. the latter is deeper and duller brown. Both these mavors. 

 yellow-brown forms come from the Amazon. — praelautus (S/fc/;. is a form from the Ucayali, having the broader pmdautus. 

 discal band united with the subapical spot, both being of the same cc^lour. Apparently less abundant than narcaea 

 although much less scarce than hippola. — geminatus Weym. (= superioris Biff.) (72 d) is characterized by the gcminatus. 

 very brdlant white-yellow apical spots; on the hindwing the band is not only comjiletely separated from the 

 still very broad, black termen, but dissolves into barely connected triangular spots ; the apex and termen occasio- 

 nally with small paie yellow spots. — nubifer Btlr. from Fonteboa has the ground-colour mahogani-brown, mthifer. 

 with broader black bands, but without the whitish spots visible in the apical area or on the under surface of 

 geminatus. Widely distributed on the Amazon: Para, Santarem, Obidos, Teffe; locally common. 



H. silvana comprises more than half a dozen of forms. Wings very long, smaller than in the preceding sjje- 

 cies; the sulphur -yellow band of the forewings gradually shades into the ground-colour, without being separated 

 by black. From the typical silvana Cr. (= clara Hhn.) (72 c), from Venezuela, Guayana and North-Brazil, sihana. 

 ethra Hbn. (= dryalus Hpffr., zuleika Buck., hopfferi Neu,st.) (72 e) is at once distinguished by the very heavy eihra. 

 black markings; on the hindwing the band is deep black throughout, not interrupted, very slightly denticulate, 

 its outer edge encroached upon by rays emitted from the broadly black termen. The costal band of the fore- 

 wing is tinged with brillant sulphur-yeUow, the wedge-shaped discal spot large, di-awn-out to a sharp point near 

 the base of the cell. In its entire appearance it is so much like narcaea flavomaculata that they can hardly be 

 distinguished from ane another when flying. I also took it at Bahia near the cemetery, in the same places 

 as flavomaculata. — brasiiiensis Neust. (72 d) is intermediate between ethra and rohigus. — In robigus hrasUicnsis. 

 Weym. (72 d), from Southern Brazil, the forewing is divided into a black apical half and a brown-yellow '■o°*9'"'*- 

 inner half, gradually shading into lemon-yellow distally, with an almost isolated, generally not very large, 

 discal spot; when flying it may be mistaken for narcaea satis on account of the absence of the lemon-yellow 

 band of the hindwing. — diffusa Btlr. refers to the Para form, hardly to be distinguished from typical .silvana; diffusa. 

 the median band of the hindwing is completely cut off from the black termen, but contiguous and outwardly 

 denticulate. — The most northerly form is' metaphorus Weym. (= antioquensis Stgr., ocanna Bitch.) from melnphonis. 

 Colombia and Ecuador; Costa more deeply black, the discal spot larger, the yellow transverse band of the 

 forewing more sharply separated from the ground-colour, the median band of the hindwings reduced to a mere 

 trace at the apex. — Farther south, along the west-coast of South-America, we find in Peru mirifica Stich., mhifica. 

 which has on the forewing the outer spots subhyaline and partially suffused with blacldsh ; the median band of 

 the hindwing consists of triangvdar, isolated spots, giving it a superficial resemblance to minis, which has, 

 however, the spots of the forewings not transparent. — adela Neust. has the shape and apical macular band adela. 

 of .silvana, but otherwise rather resembles narcaea; indeed its author considers it to be a species of its own; 

 from Ic^uitos. Of all these forms I have only observed in irature rohigus and ethra, which in BrazO associated, 

 though always singly, with the other brown-yellow Helionius. 



H. eucoma. The tw^elve f(n-ms which are known of this species, inhabit the Amazon Valley and Peru, 

 extending northward as far as Panama. The figured metaliiis Btlr. (= metabilis Ky.) (72e) resembles in its metalilis. 

 outw'ard appearance a small-sized, faded telchinia. together with which it is found in Colombia. But it also 

 occurs in Venezuela and even an the island of Cura§ao. Whether specimens from these localities re- 

 semble in every respect the figured specimen, I cannot decide, having none from the island at hand. — 



