202 ORDER LEPIDOPTERA. 



Heliconiidae. 



Genus DANAUS. 



The generic characters of the Danaus, as drawn up by Mr. Say, are as follows : 



'Anterior feet spurious in both sexes : antennae terminated by a club ; palpi distant, sub- 

 ' cylindric, short : inferior wings rounded, not forming a groove for the reception of 

 * the abdomen : nails of the tarsi simple.' 



Danavs plexippus. (Plate xxxviii, fig. 1.) 



Head and body black, marked with two rows of white dots : sides also marked with many 

 white dots : five posterior rings of the abdomen edged with white, with two rows of 

 dots beneath. Wings entire, fulvous red varying in depth in diflerent individuals : 

 nervures and costse black ; lateral and posterior margins trimmed with a black 

 border, and two rows of white spots with a black and white edge : apical area black, 

 and marked with elongate and subquadrate spots of the ground-color of the wings, 

 with smaller spots of white extending along the costa. Beneath, paler : hind- paler 

 than the forewings ; in other respects, the markings are not dissimilar to those of the 

 upper surface. Eyes and legs steel-blue : tarsi velvet-black. Expanse of wing, four 

 and a quarter inches. 

 Common, and widely distributed. The larvse are harmless, feeding on useless plants, as 

 the asclepias, etc. : they are annulated with white ; the pupa is green, and dotted with 

 golden spots. 



LiMENiTis Dissippus. (Plate xlvii, figs. 1, 2.) 



Ground-color of the wings precisely the same as in the Banaus plexippus. In the apical 

 area, a somewhat triangular spot of black extends from the apex to the outer angle, 

 within which there are four oblong spots of the color of the wing, and a small one at 

 the junction with the marginal border : this black spot is marked with three white 

 spots, and sometimes four in the row ; the lower one is a mere dot. Between these 

 white spots and the apex, there is an elongate white lunule, or an elongate pointed 

 spot. Beneath the costa, there is sometimes a white spot towards the base of the wing. 

 The hind wing is marked by a narrow black belt, extending from near the middle of 

 the costa, across the wing to the anal angle. Beneath, paler : upon the forewing 

 there are two subcostal bluish white spots, and a dash of white on the costa near the 

 black triangular spot. In the apical area, the fulvous spots are five in number, and 

 more distinct than those above. Hindwings, the black belt is bordered on its basal side 

 with three or more bluish white spots placed between the nervures. The border in 

 both pair of wings is trimmed with black, upon which the inner row of spots forms 



