WEST AND NORTH OF CART AGO 99 



tufts but have a patch of long hairs along this wing edge. 

 The Danaine females have the last section (tarsus) of the 

 first pair of legs more shortened than in the Ithomiine fe- 

 males. The two Ithomiine genera mentioned, Mechanitis 

 and MelincBa, differ in a number of structural details of which 

 the most readily seen, is that the first two veins (costal and 

 subcostal) of the hind wings are united, or very close to- 

 gether, in the basal half of their course in Mechanitis, while 

 these two veins are widely separated, except at the extreme 

 base, in Melincsa. Finally the two Heliconine genera con- 

 cerned differ from each other in that Heliconius has each 

 antenna more than half the length of the front edge of the 

 front wing, with only a slight club-shaped thickening at the 

 tip, while Eueides has each antenna less than half the length 

 of the front edge of the front wing and ending in a distinct 

 club. As differences of secondary importance but more 

 easily seen, MelincBa, Mechanitis and Lycorea have the cell 

 of the hind wing longer than half of the wing, while Heli- 

 conius and Eueides have it shorter than half of the hind 

 wing. 



By way of summary, the relationships and classification 

 of these seven butterflies may be shown thus: 



Family Pieridae Dismorphia praxinoe 



Subfamily Danainse Lycorea atergatis 



Subfamily Ithomiinae 



Family 



Nymphalids 



Melincea imitata 

 Mechanitis doryssus 

 Heliconius telchinia 

 Eueides zorcaon 

 Subfamily Nymphalinie Eresia mechanitis 



Subfamily Heliconinae 



While there is an undoubtedly close external resemblance 

 between all these seven butterflies, it is quite another ques- 

 tion whether this {unconscious) mimicry, to use the technical 

 term by which it is known to zoologists, is of importance 

 as a means of protection to any of the species concerned. 



