16 RHOPALOCERA AFRICJE AUSTRALIS. 



nervules) ; the latter band an&wers to that of upper-side, 

 and, like it, is united by dark nervules to hind-marginal 

 black border, which contains a conspicuous white streak, 

 broken up into fourteen elongate marks ; the upper portion 

 of the large spots of ground-colour between band and hind- 

 margin are creamy or whitish on their inner border, giving 

 the effect of an additional pale band: the hind-wing thus 

 presents nine transverse bands ; a small black, white-edged 

 spot marks upper angle of extremity of discoidal cell. 



Sometimes the apical region of fore-wing and ground-colour of hind- wing 

 are pale creamy-yellow, in which hue the white bands of the latter are wholly 

 merged. A common South African variety is that named Cora by Feist- 

 hamel, in which hind-wing and apical border of fore-wing are of a deep 

 chocolate-brown; in this case, the white bands are strikingly conspicuous, 

 looking like rows of pearls (the white macular streak at apex of fore-wing 

 being also very distinct), while the llack^ lands and their white dots are 

 entirely lost in the ground-colour, only a slightly darker shade indicating the 

 position of the usually conspicuous band beyond middle. Intermediate 

 between Cora and the ordinary form comes the insect named Anvatara by 

 Boisduval, in which the hind-wing is much darker than usual, and the white 

 dots of the black band beyond middle replaced by suffused dull -red marks. 



The above are the piincipal variations presented by this species in South 

 Africa ; but numerous linking examples are met with of which it is impos- 

 sible to give full description. There can be no doubt whatever that all the 

 hitherto-recorded species of Hypanis are varieties of a single species, 

 Ilithyia of Drury. Fabricius was the first to unite Cramer's Polinice with 

 Jlithyia, and in this he has been followed by Godart and Horsfield. But it 

 remained for M. Hopffer to reconcile into one all the unsatisfactory species 

 hitherto placed under this Genus, and I refer the student to his able and 

 elaborate investigation of the matter published in Peters' " Reise, &c." 

 (pp. 396 398), which finally confirmed my own conviction on the subject. 

 H. Achelo'ia of Wallengren is identical with H. Cora, Feisthamel. 



Little is known of the habits of this species. Boisduval states that, in 

 Madagascar, it haunts " woods and fields of manioc in January and 

 February, June and July." Mr. Bowker writes that, it is " very common 

 nearly all the year round " in Kaffraria. The latter gentleman has for- 

 warded to me a pair taken in copula, both sexes belonging to the var. Cora, 

 which seems as common on the Bashee as the more typical form. It 

 therefore seems probable that the variety in question is a permanent race of 

 the species. 



King William's Town. Coll. H. I. Atherstone. 



Butterworth, and Bashee River, Kaffraria (J. H. Bowker). 

 Port Natal. Damaraland (H. Hutchinson and A. Bell). 

 Coll. Tri. et Coll. S. A. Mus. 



South Africa. Natal. Cape of Good Hope. Sierra 

 Leone. Congo. Madras. Ceylon. Coll. Brit. Mus. 



North India. Coll, E. I. C. Mus. 



" Port Natal. Amazoulu Country. Madagascar." Boisd. 



" Somauli Land." Felder, Lepid. Fragm. 



"Guinea. Senegal. Nubia. Abyssinia. Mozambique. 

 Arabia. Coromandel." Hopffer, loc. cit. 



