260 DE. A. G. BUTLEE ON LEPIDOPTEEA [Mar. 19, 



together, but with slight variations in the different species ; lower 

 discocellular of secondaries better defined. All other characters are 

 inconstant, such as the relative position and length of furca of the 

 subcostal branches of the primaries, the form of the pracostal 

 veinlet of the secondaries, the stoutness of the antennae, the length 

 and uprightness of the palpi, and the robustness of the thorax ; 

 they serve only to distinguish the species. 



From Grenis, apart from its totally different outline, broader 

 wings, and utterly dissimilar style of coloration, Metacrenis differs 

 in the longer and cylindrical club to the antenna, the less strongly 

 inarched discocellulars of the primaries, and the broader and less 

 produced discoidal cell of secondaries. The position of the pr- 

 costal veinlet differs greatly in M. crawshayi and M. rosa being 

 emitted as in Hamanumida in the former, and as in Crenis 

 natalensis in the latter : in fact, if all the structural characters 

 were to be regarded as of generic value, these two evidently allied 

 species would have to be widely sundered, the first being placed 

 nearer to Hamanumida, the last to Crenis. 



36. METACEENIS CEAWSHATI. 



cJ . Crenis crawshayi, Butler, P. Z. S. 1893, p. 654, pi. Ix. fig. 5. 

 . Approaches Hopffer's figure of his M. concordia (Peters's 

 Eeise, Zool. v. p. 391, pi. 22. figs. 3, 4, 1862), but the ground- 

 colour above is bright rosy-lavender, with all the black spots much 

 more elongated ; the primaries show two little diffused white 

 dashes instead of the oblique yellow bar of M. concordia and all 

 the other yellow shades are wanting, but the nervures between 

 the discal and submarginal series of spots have rufous-brownish 

 borders and the spots themselves are connected by blue-grey 

 streaks : below, the colouring is much brighter than in Hopffer's 

 ligure, the black spots are elongated ; the first four discal spots of 

 the primaries are connected by blue longitudinal streaks with the 

 submarginal spots ; there is no continuous blue border on any of 

 the wings, but only small marginal blue spots as in my figure of 

 the male. Expanse of wings 69 millim. .- 



One female, Fwambo. 



Hopffer's figures of M. concordia, if intended to represent this 

 species, are so bad that it is no marvel that (with the book on my 

 table) a cursory glance at the plate failed to save me from 

 committing what my friend Trimen assures me is a grievous 

 blunder. In the first place, Hopffer described his species as a 

 Harma and in Kirby's ' Catalogue of Diurnal Lepidoptera ' it 

 remains in that genus under its emended title ; so that, in looking 

 up the known species of Crenis, I naturally did not have my 

 attention particularly called to it. When Mr. Trimen, with his 

 wide knowledge of African Butterflies, assured me that my species 

 was a synonym of Hopffer's, I again looked at the figure and 

 concluded that he was correct ; but, with the female of M. craw- 

 shayi before me, I feel certain, when we see M. concordia, that we 

 ' [12] 



