EUEIDES. By Dr. A. Seitz. 395 



figure given in Staudinger's "Exot. Tftgfr.lter", showing the bands of the forewing biown and that of the hind- 

 wing sky-blue, is hardly recognizable. It flits together witli Colaenis lelesipJie (84 d) from wlucli it cannot be 

 distinguislltd at all in the air; only the bluntly projecting forewing. the dentate outer margin of the h'nd- 

 wing and the totally different under surface betray Colaenis. But above they agree so exactly in colouring that 

 one cannot doubt the mimetic connection between the two. A fuither proof of this seems to be the fact that 

 in Ecuador we find a form of Colaenis having the band on the hindwing yellow instead of white, viz. Col. tithrau- 

 stes (84 d): now we meet in the same localities also a Heliconivs telesiphe which is yellow-banded, and ineleed 

 this band is exactly 1 — 2 mm wider than in typical Hel. telesiphe, even as in Col. tithraiistes it is somewhat broader 

 than in Col. telesiphe. To try to explain such astonishing coincidences by "chance" or by "physical laws", 

 seems indeed two much to ask of the reader. — The name of the yellow-bandc el Ecuador form of Hel. 

 telesiphe is sotericus Snlv. (79c); it is founel in Peru wherever Col. tithramstes flies. H.-vensch captureel it in Oc- solericus. 

 tober near Sa. Inez in Ecuador at an altituele of 3800 ft., Stubel in January at Riobamba and Huamboya. 



H. hortense Guer. (= hortensia Dbl.) (79 c). On the forewing the band irregular, pale yellow, on the horicme. 

 hinelwing curved, broadly ochreous-brown. Uneler surface most peculiar, with a faintly violet-pinkish meelian 

 band, the veins and intranerval rays very dark. From Honeluras to Colombia anel Ecuaelor. Associates with 

 a number of species partly belonging to Heliconins, partly to Eueides, but all with similar upper surface, such as 

 Hel. cly.sojiimus , E^i. ricini etc. 



H. clysonimus Latr. (70 b) resembles above in ce)louring hortense, with A\hich it associates; but all the dysoniiuus. 

 bands are narrower, those of the hindwing more brillantly reel. From Venezuela to Ecuador, where Haensch 

 found it as high up as 3800 ft. above the sea. — A dwarf form, hardly half as large as the Colombian 

 dysoninvus, is ab. micra form. nov. (79 a, b); on the forewing the obliepie band approaches nearer to the micra. 

 termen, on the hindwing dull cinnamon-brown. From the Llanos of Venezuela. — An intermediate form from 

 the mountains of Costa Rica and Panama is montaiia Salv. which has on the hindwing the brown band conside- montana. 

 rably broader than the black terminal area. — hygiana Heiv. (79 a) from Ecuador has on the forewing before hygiana. 

 the apex a seconel small yellow spot, anel the median vein elustcd with yellow. 



2. Genus: I^iieidos Hbn. 



Closely allied to Heliconius, but at once distinguished by the shorter anel more distinctly clubbed an- 

 tennae. The majority of species elo not reach the average size of the Heliconins. Head relatively broader; 

 palpi larger anel more porrect; abdomen of $ stouter, but not so long as in many Heliconius, never projec- 

 ting far beyonel the anal angle, freepiently not even reaching it. In their whole appearance they rather approach 

 the Argynninae, especially Eresia or Melitaea, than Heliconius; for which reason Feldeb separateel them from 

 the latter altogether, uniting them with the Nymphalidae. 



About 60 forms are known which have an even more limiteel range than those of Heliconius. In the 

 North they do not pass beyond the Neotropic limits, in the Soutli only to Southern Brazil anel Paraguay. Whe- 

 reever they occur, they are very common; their flight is elegant, swimming, but not rapid; they have a very 

 tough life, anel love to visit flowers. Flying throughout the entire year they seem but little influenced by the 

 seasons. Their greatest enemies are the spielers, in the webs of which large numbers of Eueides elaaly lose their 

 Uves. In Bahia I often found in the webs of large spiders elozens of them eleael which hael been either too 

 weak or too awkward to liberate themselves. 



In the woods they are but rarely met with, neve-r in the dense forest; they prefe-r the open country, 

 sun-lit openings, hilly slopes, the borders of broael roads anel flower-covereel meaelows, where they associate 

 not only with their own kind, but with a host of butterflies belonging to quite different families or genera, 

 all coloin-ed anel markeel alike. No other larger genus of Lepidoptera. not even the Heliconius, mimic other moelels 

 to such a degree as the Eueides, anel their models are founel among the Pieriels, Danaiels, Acraeids, Nymphaliels, 

 Erycinids, Castniicls, Pericopiels etc. Indeed one may say that no Eueides, without any exception, has a cha- 

 racter of its own. but that for every Eueides we find in one or the other genus at least one, often even a \\hole 

 series of analogous forms. Thus one may separate the Eueieles into those that copy the Heliconius of the 

 groups of narcaea, of melpomene, of thelviope. of clysonimus, those that mimic the Divnaid genus Lycorea, 

 or the genus Actinote, or Colaenis julia. and finally those which in the (J copy on<' species, in the $ airother. 



The eggs resemble in shape a wine-bottle : they a.re deposited singly or in clumps on the unelersiele of the 

 leaves of Passiflora, which form the fooel of the la,rva. One .species {Eu. ckobaea) is said to live in the laiva.1 



