42 



The distribution nf the different genera of the IthoiiiiiiKiis curious 

 and interesting. Some, such as Melin/ra, Meclianitis, Ceratinia, 

 Leucnt/n/ria, Epit^cada, Xajn'oi/ows and Dircenna, are distributed over 

 the whole of the area covered b}^ the family, while others are chiefly 

 northern, such as Callolina and Aeria. The genera Heterasais, 

 Ithomia, Miralera are chiefly in the north-western part of South 

 America, while Hi/menitis is chiefly in the south-west. Hetemacada 

 has but a sole representative, found only in the south-east, while the 

 eastern slopes of the Andes in Peru and Ecuador produce most of 

 the forms of Valaiinj^ta, Hypoleria, Disiiienitis and Ptcroin/iiiia. 

 Some of the genera have a marked pattern by Avhich their loca- 

 tion may be suspected, but others contain species with patterns of 

 all the rest of the genera, such as are to be found in Xapeoi/eites, a 

 genus that is, perhaps, one of the most interesting in all South 

 America. All the species it contains are like other species in other 

 genera of Ithoiiiihvr ; there is no definite shape even, some species 

 are long- winged, some short-winged, some narrow and some broad. 

 Except that the genus is one of a distasteful family, it is very 

 comparable to the Nymphaline mimetic genus Kresia. In nearl}' 

 all the transparent Ithomiine genera there are odd species which 

 seem to be out of place by their coloration. Thus, in Ccratinia 

 there is the curious looking (J. eitpoinpe, besides the dark ('. (ynio, 

 C. fratcr and C. utatilla. In the genus Leitcotln/ris, which has such 

 a usually well-marked pattern and coloration, there are the aberrant- 

 looking species L. zelica and L. pa(/:ii<a, besides the group with the 

 orange-brown marks on the apex, such as C. ilcrda and C. ilerdina, 

 etc. In i'alloleria there are no species that seem to be out of place 

 by their coloration, but in Ithomia there are a variety of forms and 

 colourings, and it is much more of a mimetic genus like yapfoi/cju's 

 than most of the others. The genus Hypm^rada, although close in 

 structure to LencotJnp-i^i, a particularly transparent genus, contains 

 no transparent species, and most of them fall in as members of the 

 large Melhuia and Meclianitis groups, rather than into true Ithomiine 

 groups. Some of the species are rare, especially so for Ithomiids, 

 such as 11. fallax, which flies in Peru in company with Melinaa 

 cydippe snd Meclianitis niethone of which it is a very com])lete 

 copy on a small scale. In Ceratinia there are also two similarly 

 coloured species in (;. semifnlva and ('. lionesta ab. hicolora, which 

 are also rare. The species that come closest in coloration to the 

 species of Hyposcoda are to be found \n I'ciatinia, bat such 

 species as II. consohrina and H. similia, are not like any other 

 Ithomiids that I know of, notwithstanding the name of the latter, 

 which may have an allusion to some other species. There are hardly 

 any species of Ithomiines that are not roughly, but \evy often most 

 exactly, copied by Ithomiine species of other genera. Thus Ave have, 

 going seriatim through all the genera, the following colour 

 resemblances : — 



