of the Genus Teracolus, Swains. 463 



51. Teracolus agoye. 







Anthopsyche agoye, Wallengren, Lep. Rhop. Caffr. p. 15 (1857). 

 Anthocharis eosphorus, Trimen, Trans. Ent. Soc. ser. 3, vol. i. p. 523 



(1863). 



Teracolus Bowkeri, Trimen, op. cit. 1883, p. 358. 

 Teracolus zephyrus, Marshall, P. Z. S. 1897, p. 8. 



South Africa. 



I have carefully compared the various descriptions of this 

 species with our examples, and have utterly failed to discover 

 any reason for keeping them separate. Three examples from 

 the Godman and Salvin collection of the wet-season phase 

 obtained at Kimberley (two males and one female) agree 

 remarkably well with Mr. Marshall's description : one worn 

 and damaged male example in our series and one in the 

 Hewitson collection of the intermediate phase, having the 

 apex of primaries and the secondaries beneath creamy 

 yellowish, are somewhat larger, with the black inner bordering 

 of the apical patch continued almost to the first median 

 branch ; these are from Damaraland, and therefore should 

 represent T. agoye = eosphorus-, whilst a male in the Hewitson 

 collection of the dry-season phase from the Transvaal has all 

 the veins finely blackened above, the apical patch intermediate 

 in size, with only its upper half black-bordered, its outer 

 portion irrorated with greyish lavender, the apex of primaries 

 and the secondaries below rose-pink. But for the compara- 

 tive rarity of T. agoye, I am certain that Mr. Marshall would 

 not have been so inconsistent as to regard the very slight 

 characters upon which he has separated it into three species 

 as either likely to be constant or of the least importance. 

 There are hardly any of the forms which he has associated 

 under his T. evagore, T. evippe } and T. achine which do not 

 differ more markedly from one another. He himself says of 

 specimens which he calls T. achine : " The undersides are 

 equally variable, ranging from the type with black neuration 

 to a specimen in which there is no trace of black " ; and, 

 under his T. phlegyas: "the development of the black on 

 neuration is such an eminently unreliable character in this 

 genus." It is perfectly well known also that the width of 

 the black inner edging of the apical patch and the black 

 costal streak on the secondaries are far less reliable, that the 

 white or creamy under surface is dependent upon season, 

 and that the discocellular dots are most inconstant. What 

 characters then remain ? 



