African Species of the Genus Acraea. 201 



for the most part faint and obsolescent. On h.-w. underside the- 

 spots are much smaller and closer together and enclose an irreg- 

 ular but well-defined band of rose-pink. In many examples the 

 two central sjsots in Ic are joined together and form a peculiar 

 semicircular line enclosing a rose-pink mark. The 9 may 

 resemble the (J or may be more heavily spotted and of a generally 

 richer ground-colour. 



A. nnacreon speciosa, subsp. 



This is the Angola subspecies of anacreon. I am in- 

 debted to Herr Wichgraf for tlie opportunity of examining 

 the type. The following are the principal differences from 



typical avacreon :— 



Wings brighter red, with little indication of the black apical 

 area in f.-w. The spot in area 2 lies further from the margin. 

 The underside is very brightly coloured, with orange patches 

 between the h.-w. nervules. 



In the type the spot in cell lies before origin of nervule 2, but 

 this may be an aberration as I have before me examples in 

 which this feature is normal. The f.-w. spots are larger and 

 except for the absence of the apical black the specimen has the 

 appearance of a heavily spotted example of the indnna form. 



I cannot regard the distinction between the above forms 

 as more than subspecitic. The genitalia appear to be all 

 of the same structure and, though simple, possess certain 

 features which are remarkable and common to all. The 

 claspers bear on their outer side peculiarly dense tufts of 

 hairs or scales, which, however, are easily removed if due 

 care be not exercised in dissection. Also the dorsal ab- 

 dominal plate is large, deeply bifid, and its inner membrane 

 is densely clothed with a mass of special scales, so numerous 

 and so easily detached as to obscure the preliminary opera- 

 tions of dissection. 



I have before me a series of some eighty exa'mples 

 from various localities, and it is po.>sible to arrange them 

 so as to show a perfect gradation of wing pattern. 



Marshall found the larva at Ulundi, and records that out 

 of seventy- five individuals, twenty were killed by a dipterous 

 parasite. I cannot find any description of the early stages. 



Butler records both homha and induna forms taken 

 together by Crawshay on the Chuona River, Unyika. 



A remarkable feature of the species is the variability in 

 the relative positions of the spots in f.-w. lb and 2. In 

 ana-creon anacreon that in lb is usually beneath that 



