420 Messrs. J. J. Joicey and W. J. Kaye on 



the intermediate forms with only a red streak at base far 

 outnumber the forms in (1) and (3) together. Whether 

 the fully streaked form or whether the plain black hind- 

 wing was the earlier it is difficult to say. But from the 

 greater general distribution of no*n-streaked forms to 

 streaked forms, it would appear that the totally streaked 

 form was the later development. 



The first step in the development of colour to the hind- 

 wing is a small red spot at the base, below the median vein. 

 This is only present in a single example, a specimen (of the 

 melpomenides type), PI. CVIII, fig. 1. The next stage of 

 development is curious, and suggests that progressive 

 development might be working in an opposite direction, 

 and that the red basal area might be tending to becoming 

 reduced. The red basal spot is surrounded with black, 

 and red appears again below it as a narrow belt. This 

 black dividing the red basal spot from the remainder of 

 the red streak is very persistent and appears in all stages 

 of development of the red streak, but is hardly discernible 

 in the fully developed basal streak, and then only rarely. 

 From the short basal streak the development is outwards 

 into the cell, but suffused with black scaling over the outer 

 half, the suffusion always appearing diagonally across the 

 red in the cell. A stage later is a sharply cut diagonally 

 red basal streak, and in the majority of cybele speci- 

 mens we see the fullest development of the streak where 

 it is still slightly cut diagonally, but more often has 

 its lower edge horizontal and at right angles with the 

 abdomen. 



An interesting phenomenon is that the red basal area 

 of the fore-wing is practically an invariable accompaniment 

 to the short red basal streak to the hind-wing. From the 

 evidence of those specimens that show a single red spot 

 at the base of the hind-wing, and at the same time no red 

 on the base of the fore-wing, it appears reasonable to sup- 

 pose that the red of the base of the hind-wing was ante- 

 cedent to the red basal area of the fore-wing. But from 

 the very constant appearance of both simultaneously, it is 

 probable that the red base of the fore-wing was a nearly 

 contemporary development to the red base of the hind- 

 wing. In this connection it is interesting to recall the 

 Ecuadorean form of melpomene named contiguus, in which 

 the flame-streaks of the hind-wing are present alone, 

 without the red basal area of fore-wing or red basal streak 



