382 



HELICONIUS. By Dr. A. Seitz. 



euphone. the7micWle of the wing. — euphone Fldr., widely distributed in north-eastern South-America, resembles 



Hel. tarapotensis, but tlie black markings are heavier, more profuse, and the band of the hindwings is not made 



up of an incomplete row of spots, but forms a complete and contiguous median fascia, recalling a strongly 



preiiosus. marked Melin. menopMlus. ■ — This similarity exists also in pretiosus Weym. (72 e); hindwing with the band 



staudingeri. sXmo^i complete, the apex of the foreA\ ing laved with rufous: from Sarayacu in Peru. — staudingeri Weym. 



messene. (73 e) is somewhat larger, with the black spots on the forewings more contiguous; Huallaga. — messene Fldr., 

 one of the more common of Bogota-butterflies, particularly abundant in the higher, more o^jen districts of 

 Colombia, represents a melanotic form of euphone; fore^ving with the entire apical and basal areas black, leaving 

 only an inwardly brown, outwardly yellow band; hindwings chiefly brown-black. It thus closely resembles 

 Mechanitis messenoides (33 f) and Melinaea messenina, two Danaids named after it, the latter very much like 

 motlione (32 e), but differing from it in having on the forewing the band outwardly lemon-j-eUow. Hel. mes.sene, 

 Melin. messenina and Mech. messenoides are always found together, being on the wing only flistinguished by their 

 idalion. size. — idalion Weym. is closely allied to euphone, the only chief differences being the very distinct apical spots 

 of the forewings, the 3 upper ones of which are nearly united, whereas the lower one, as well as the broader 



floridus. submedian band and wedge-shaped cell-spot are small. Colombia. — The last form is floridus Weym. (73 c), 

 widely distributed through northern South-America, especially also in Bolivia and Peru. It may be recognized 

 by having in the apical area of the forewing two lemon-yeUow macular bands, separated from one another by 

 the brown-yellow ground-colour. 



ithaJca. H. ithaka Fldr. (73 f) from Colombia resembles in the forewing euphrasius (73 b), but has the ground- 



colour clearer yellow-brown, less obscured with fuscous; the hindwing, however, is completely black, with 



viltatus. the exception of a transcellular dash of rufous and 3 — 5 small white anteterminal spots. • — ab. vittalus 

 Btlr., likewise from Colombia, has the forewing as in ithaka, but the hindwings lighter, not quite black, but only 



marius. with a black median band made up of spots which are confluescent above. — In ab. marius Weym. (73 b) the 

 black colouring is even more reduced, the spots of the forewing are smaller, those of the median band of the 

 hindwing separated; from Colombia, especially Muzo, San Martin; formerly often found in so-called "Bogota"- 



cajetani. collections. — cajetatii Neu.st. resembles typical ithal-a, but the black median spot is bisected, confluescing 

 with the termen in cell 4, where it cuts off a sulphur-yellow spot of the oblique band. The terminal spot in 

 cell 3 hkewise very large, being united with a portion of the upper median spot; forewing with 3 yellow apical 

 spots. Colombia. — ithaka seems to be rather common in the valleys surrounding Monte Tolima. 



H. pardalinus and its forms seem^to take farther south the place of the preceding species, inhabiting 

 dilalus. the Amazon-Valley, Ecuador, Peru and Polivia. — dilatus Weym. (73 e) from Ecuador and Peru is dull yellow- 

 ish-brown; the forewings strongly spotted Avith black, the apex yellow-brown, with lemon-yellow spots of va- 

 radiosus. riable munber and size and dissected by black veins. — radiosus Btlr. differs but verj' slightly in the somewhat 

 duller colouring, and the broader black border and median band of the liindwing. This, esiJecially if the lemon- 

 yeUow apical spots of the forewing are rather large, gives it a deceptive resemblance to the form floridus of the 

 pardalinus. preceding group. — pardalinus Bat. from the Upper Amazon is like radiosus, but the ground-colour is even 

 darker brown, more strongly contrasting with the generally broader, whitish-yellow transverse band of the 

 forewing ; the apex itself entirely black, whereas in radiosus and dilatus it encloses on the forewing some dashes 

 lucescms. of ferruginous. — lucescens Weym. from the Lower Amazon (particularly from Santarem where a great number 

 of Heliconius are found), but occurring aberratively also on the Upper Amazon, together with the typical form, 

 has the apex much more profusely adorned with lemon-yellow of which occasionally a bright band extends to 

 mueon. beyond the submedian vein, sometimes faded to bone-white. — maeon Weym. (habitat not known, but 

 without any doubt the Amazon) resembles dilatus, but has the brown oblique band of the forewing narrower 

 and rather broken up into spots, the black discal spots large, confluescent, and on the hindwing the median band 

 tithoreides. dissolved into triangular spots. — tithoreides Stgr. from Peru resembles radiosus, but is of larger size, the wings 

 are broader, the black marldngs increased, more confluescent, on the hmdwuig the median band more regular 

 and continuous. 



H. fortunatus. On account of the great variability of the markings characteristic of the genus, 

 it is difficult to decide whether the Uvo forms referred to this species should not rather be classed with some 

 spurius. other group. — spurius Weym. (74 a) from the Lower Amazon closely resembles floridus (73 c) in all but the 

 apical ai-ca, which displays a series of lemon-yellow spots and is separated from the yeUow-brown discal area by 

 an oblique band, remarkable on account of its unusually horizontal course from the middle of the costa to 

 ioriumatus. the middle of the termen. — fortunatus Weym. from Villa Bella on the Lower Amazon, possesses also this almost 

 horizontal band, but lacks the apical row of spots, and has on the hindwing the black median band strongly 

 denticulate. 



seryesius. H. sergestus Weym. (74 a) is probably the southern representative of the preceding group, being found 



in Peru, where Gaklepp discovered it at Tarapoto. Resembles the preceding, also in the brillant rufous colour- 



