MESOSEMIA. By Dr. A. Skitz. 645 



M. croesus F. ( ? = capaneus Cr.) (125 h). ,^ of a bright blue gloss, torewing with a dark (mostly crncsii:^. 

 double) black border, a black central eye- spot and behind it a guttiform spot. The latter maj be thicker or 

 more streak-shaped, more bulky or more pointed, the eye-sj5ot may be round or oval exhibiting mostly 3 pupils. 

 Hindwing with transverse lines varying considerably in size and positioji. — splendida Sz. (li^Sh) arc c^cJ of splcnrliihr. 

 a lighter blue and very bright reflection, the black marking being greatly reduced. — semiatra iSz. (125 h, as scmialra. 

 gneris) are (Jo ii^ \^hich on the contrary the black, especially in the distal part of the forewing, is so much 

 increased that it predominates there over the blue. $ greyish-brown, with lighter tran.svcrse stripes. In 

 typical $$ these transverse bands are before the broad dark Ijorder only brightened in a blui'^h-grcy, not pro- 

 perlj' white. — In gneris Dbl. and Heir, the forewings exhibit in the place of the greyish-blue liand a narrow uiirris. 

 white one. — In meana Heir, this band runs also through the hindwiiiji, though nari'ow. — In trilineata Btlr. niraini. 

 (= sylvicoleus Rlh-.) (125 h) it is broader on both wings, on the hindwing sometimes parted for sduic distance '''''"""'"• 

 by a line jiroceeding from the anal angle. Tlie numerous variabilities of the complicated marking have led 

 to many other names: maria Btlr. are large ^^ with very much mprked under surface; in lacrimosa Stick. 

 the guttiform spot fades away before the costa, the central eye-spot flows out downwards like a streak; tJiy- 

 metina Bilr. shows the white band broad and uniform; ionima Stick, is above very much marked in black, 

 the scent-area at the costa of the hindwing is more extensive; gentilis Hew. are $$ in which ,,the ground of 

 the wings round the discal spot is brightened by a dull ochre bro«n", the line next to the broad shade-like 

 band being ,,less undulate", the under surface of a paler ground colour; kemtsoni Stick, and geometrica Stick. 

 are quite superfluous names; if they would be maintained, at least 30 more denominations would be necessary. 

 croesus is a beautiful and widely distributed species; its patria is the \\hole northern part of South America, 

 extending from the coast of Guiana to the south as far as Peru and Central Brazil: tlie butterfly is local, though 

 not rare at its flying-places. 



I X. Group. (nieto2)e- Group.) 



(^^ b 1 a c k i s h - b r o w n , posteriorly b r i g h t c n (m1 by white, mostly w i t h blue 

 layers; $ 5 ™ o ^ t similar to each other, nut-brown to e a r t h y - b r o w n , den 



s e 1 y s t r i p e d. 



M. ahava Heir. (126 a, b). Blackish brown; the eye-spot of the forewing hidden in the blackish ground- ahara. 

 colour, before the border a somewhat lighter stripe. Distal half of the hindwings white. Peru. Specimens from 

 Bolivia being somewhat larger and exhibiting the lighter stripe of the forewing beneath as an indistinct trans- 

 verse band (we figure such a specimen), were called vehda Stick. Bare and varying according to the habitats; 

 the white of the hindwings shows a different bordering at every habitat, lieing sometimes posteriorly sharply 

 defined by an oblique line, sometimes more fading away. 



M. zanoa Hew. (126 b). Above resembling the preceding ^^pecies, but the distal part of the hindwings zanon. 

 blue. Ecuado'-. — orthia Stick, are specimens lying before me from Villavicencio (Colombia); the blue area of orlhici. 

 the hindwing of zanoa is here only proxiniplly blue, its distal half is white. Rare; the $9 are not before me. 



M. metope. It is doubtful whether the forms quoted here can l)e separated from zmon so as to prevent 

 that transitions establish a complete chain of connecting liids;s to the se-ies of metope. The following forms 

 vary in such a way to each other that it appears hardly possible to separate them, especially since the $$ are 

 scarcely distinguishable, where the (J (J differ from each other, and vice versa. — metope Hew. (= pruinosa mrtnpr. 

 Stick.) (126 a) is blackish-brown, the forewing with a more or less distinct bhush-grey diffuse spot before the 

 apex; hindwing with a white distal part being proximally shaded in blue. The diffuse spot of the forewing 

 may be reduced to some small scales below the costa, large and triangular, .split in the lower end and drawn 

 down towards the anal angle in 2 tips. There are more than 50 specimens before me with all the degrees of 

 this variation. $ similar to that of coea, the stripes of the hindwing undulated. From Guiana to Brazil and 

 the Upper Amazon; not rare. — olivencia Bat. (142 a) is very near to metope, the (J being without the pointed olirciida. 

 diffuse sjjot of the forewing; from the Western Amazon District and Bolivia. By its under surface (forewing 

 with a white transverse stripe) it forms a transition to akava. — ungulata Stick. (142b) is without the preajiical iiikikIhIh. 

 diffuse spot of the forewing and the blue colouring of the light area of the hindwing has disajjpeared except 

 scarcely noticeable traces; French Guiana (Nouveau Chantier, St. Laurent du Maroni); described ficiin the 

 Amazon (Santarem). thus certainly of a wide range. $ nut-brown, the marking almost exactly as in minos 

 or melaene (126 a), but the border of the hindwing is only narrow, at the distal margin white. The $$ of the 

 different forms quoted do not offer any thorough differences. 



M. philocles L. (126 b). Forewing blackish-broMii with a dull bluish-grey oblicpie diffuse spot behind philorlc-^. 

 the median eye-spot; the distal half of the hindwing is white, proximally shaded in blue with 5 transverse stripes 

 of which, however, mostly only those at the border above are running through; the 3 others have only apical 

 beginnings. Varies extremely. The diffuse spot of the forewing may fade away before the middle of the wing 

 or be parted in its lower tip by a black line. The white of the hindwing may be reduced and all the 

 transverse lines may also above run completely through as far as to the anal margin. The blue of the forewings 

 may spread round the eye-spot (= egabella Bat.) (126 b) or even fill up the whole cell of the forewing as far egahiila. 

 as to the base (laetifica Bat.) (126 b). The form mentioned last with the transverse stripes running through hidifica. 



