HELIGONIUS. By Dr. A. Seitz. 387 



(= amarylliw Dist., petiverana Godm. and Salv.) (70 b) resembles above, as may be judged from its synonyms, 

 peiiverana, columbina, demophoon etc.; fore\^'Jng with narrow red transverse band, liindwing M-itli yellow, 

 pointed subcostal streak. From Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. — amaryllis Fldr., tlie name-type, from amaryUix. 

 Peru and the adjacent paits of noithern Brazil, resembles the preceding, but has the red band of the forewing 

 much broader; on the under surface there are fewer red basal dots and the costal stripe is absent. — euryas eitryas. 

 Bsd. (= melpomene Bat.) and euryades Eiff. (76 b) are mere aberrations of the preceding form, lacking above euryades. 

 on the hindwings the yellow band, which only faintly shines through from underneath; euryas represents the 

 form rosina, euryades avuiryllis; hindwings without the yellow band. The former occurs in Central America, 

 Colombia and Venezuela, euryades in Colombia, Venezuela and Trinidad. All the forms of this species may or 

 may not display a blue iridescence. — amaryllis flies the whole year round, and counts in its home (f. i. at 

 Tarapoto) among the commonest liutterflies, but is especially abundant during certain periods (May and Octo- 

 ber). Specimens found in the nnnuitain-forests are said to be larger than those from the arid plains. Several 

 different aberrations are known, having f. i. the band of the hindwing white instead of yellow. 



H. vulcanus Btlr. (76 c). The tyjjical form above like euryas, but with very short whit« fringe of the vukamis. 

 wings. Forewing beneath with traces of a yellowish-white median line; Colombia and Panama; said to 

 range as far as Guayana, but this must be a mistake. — In fa. cythera Hetr. (76 d) which in Ecuador c.(///(era. 

 flies together with the very similar Hel. cyrbia (78 a), the hindwings liave the distal border whitish, the 

 forewings the red tiansveise band edged with yellow pioximally. — modesta Biff, from Paramba In Ecua,dor modcsta. 

 stands midway between vulcanus and cythera; on the foiewing the band is as narrow as in the latter, but 

 the termen of the hndwing shows no white at all or very little. — In concinna .SV(V/^ the band of the concinna. 

 forewing is half yellow, the termen distinctly spotted with white; from Balzabaniba. 



H. xenoclea. The forms belonging to this group have on the forewing two bands, one behind the other, 

 a characteristic distinguishing them from most other red-banded Heliconius. But the similarity of their forms 

 is partly depending on mimicry, and they have no more to do with each other than cyrbia and cythera. If, as 

 sometimes happens, both bands flow together, they of course show only one spot, which is, however, so broad 

 that with the exception of the apex and base the whole wing is occupied by it. We know two cj[uite similar 

 forms, both above black, marked on the forewing with 2 red semi-bands or spots, the upper one of which 

 is vase-shaped, the lower one obliquely oval; both fly simultaneously at the same places in Ecuador and 

 Peru, but differ from one another in that the (^^ of one have the costal area of the hindwing greyish- 

 white, and on the under surface of the forewing the inner margin glossed as far as the median vein (scent- 

 organ), whereas the ^^ of the other, otherwise quite similar form h?.ve no gloss on the under surface of 

 the forewings, and the costal area of the hindwing is brown above. To which of these the type belongs which 

 was named xenoclea by Hewit.son, was for a long time doubtful. The specimens in Hewit.sox's collection 

 are set so low, that the costal margin of the hindwings remains invisible. Riffarth evidently believed, — pro- 

 bably mislead by Hewitson's figure, — that the o of Hewitson's xenoclea had the costal margin of the 

 hindwing brown, and called therefore the form with glossy white-grey anterior margin ''bafesi" . Lp.ter investi- 

 gations, however, seem to have proved this to be an error; for the type of xenoclea. in Hewit.son's collection 

 has actually a pale costal margin, for which reason the specimens w ith brown costal margin of the liindw ing have 

 been named microclea Kaye. As we do not attempt to arrange the groups from a systematic ])oint of view, microdea. 

 but only wish to reneler on ea.sy recognition of the forms jjossible, we here bring both forms together, naturally 

 as .separate species. In recent years a good many aberrations were described of both forms, but partly in a 

 manner that leaves it doubtful whether they belong to xenoclea or to microclea. — confluens Lathy (76 d) confluens. 

 has the red spots broadly confluescent. The water-ceilourecl illustrations of Ploetz's show a specimen with very 

 broad apica.l spot, and specimens having the apical spot broadly, the discal spot quite narrowly bordered 

 with red distally, but otherwise white, are named superba (76 b) by Lathy. — plesseni Riff. (= pura Niep.) superba. 

 from Ecuador has the spots altogether white, instead of red; the extracellular portion of the urn-shaped discal P'^''*''^''"- 

 spot may be inwardly margined with brown-red (= corona Niep.), or the portion within the cell may be corona. 

 crimson (diadema Niep.). — adonis Biff, has on the forewing the spots dusted with yellow, the posterior diaiema. 

 one na,rrowly edged with red proximally. — In rubicunda Niep. they are all dusted with reel. All these forms mbicunda. 

 are, whereever they occur cpiite common. — The typical form xenoclea Hew. (= batesi Biff.) from Ecuador .venodea. 

 and Peru has both spots on the forewing bright minium-reel. Of all the above nameel forms as well as of others 

 we know transitions from reel to almost white spots, either the outer or the inner spot being affected. 



Of H. microclea Kaye {= xenoclea Biff.) we know some particularly white specimens that were named microdea. 

 notabilis Salv. anel Godm. ; both the ajjical anel eliscal spots are clear white, only a very narrow streak at their mtabilis. 

 inner margin remaining reel. 



H. rianna Stich. (7t) c) bears the same relation to the common Brazilian phyltis, as xenoclea Heir, to vnniin. 

 microclea Kaye. But above it shows the characteristic elifference that the discal band is not sluirply cut off 



