African species of the Lycaenesthesgroup of Lycaenidae. 39 
There are two forms of this species, one apparently ob¬ 
taining in the hot arid parts of the south and one in other 
districts; the difference in colour is quite marked. The 
former has both wings of a pale bright shining cupreous 
grey with the red-edged black anal spots in marked con¬ 
trast, the underside is also slightly paler; the other form 
is dark greyish brown with scarcely any gloss, and the anal 
spots much less marked—a natural result of the increased 
tone of colour. In the underside this species stands quite 
alone, as in addition to the usual Lycaenesthes pattern, it 
has in the primaries a broad blackish bar in the fold; in 
the secondaries there are four bold blackish brown spots 
below vein 8, the basal one being small, two similar sub- 
basal spots, one in the cell, one below- it, and two small 
ones on the abdominal margin. 
It has been a matter of considerable difficulty to assign 
the species its position; the genitalia are nearest to L. 
princeps, but the other characters seem to bring it more into 
the present position, and on the whole I am inclined to leave 
it here. It is very widely distributed over the continent, 
the dark form prevailing throughout Eastern and Central 
Equatorial Africa, throughout the whole of the West Coast; 
the pale form only occurring in the hot dry regions, so far 
as my material enables me to judge ; the palest forms of 
all coming from Bomba and Muscat, with the ^ almost 
the same colour as the I have not, however, examined 
a large number of specimens from the latter district. 
Hah. Sierra Leone ; Angola ; Ovamboland ; Cape 
Colony; Kaffraria; Natal; Transvaal; Mashuna; 
British East Africa; German East Africa; Abys¬ 
sinia; Congo; White Nile; Bomba; Aden; Muscat; 
Poona. 
GenitnUa .—Harpago somewhat oval, slightly excised above and 
below to the front edge, which is erect and slightly excised, the 
bottom front extremity thus forms a small acute angle, whilst the 
upper extremity is produced forward and upward into a long point; 
the cingula is fairly developed, the lower extremity produced back¬ 
wards into a long, strong, curved process, the sides rapidly increasing 
in width towards the tegumen, which is wholly excised on the apex ; 
the neck being quite narrow and slightly elevated at the very back, 
the fore edge bearing the falces being evenly rounded ; the falces are 
large and strong, highly curved from the sockets with a formidable 
hook at the extremity; the furca has an erect, tapering, short main 
