THE CATAGEAMMAS. 



C03 



upper pair. The azure only belongs to the male, the female being 

 simply black and white. 



The genus Catagramma is easily distinguished by the peculiarity 

 from -which it derives its name, which is composed of two Greek 

 words, signifying something that is painted or written upon. It is 

 applied to these insects because the under surface of the lower 

 wings is always covered with a boldly delineated pattern of con- 

 trasting colours. All these Butterflies are natives of the New 

 World. The painting of the lower wings is very much alike in 



Fig. K43. — Catagramma excelsior. 

 (Above, black and orange.) 



most of the species, but the upper surface varies very considerably, 

 especially in the upper wings. None of the Catagrammas are 

 large insects, those which are here given being of the average size. 

 There is only one specimen of Catagramma excelsior in the 

 British Museum. It is a native of the Amazons district. 

 Above, the upper wings are black, with a broad band of orange 

 reaching from the base nearly as far as the outer edge, and near 

 the tip is a slight dash of the same colour. The lower wings g,re 



