144 SOUTH- AFEIC AN BUTTEEFLIES. 



40. (7.) Acrsea Petraea, Boisduval. 



(J Acrcea Petrcea, BoisJ., App. Voy. de Deleg. dans I'Afr. Aust., p. 489, 



n. 49 (1847). 

 ^ and $ Acroea Petrcea, Trim., Khop. Afr. Austr, i. p. 100, n. 63 (1862). 

 $ and 5 Acrcea Petrcea, Hopff., in Peters' Reisenach Mossamb., Ins., 



P- 373j P^- xxiv. If. 1-4 (1862). 

 ^ Acrcea Petrcea, var., Obertli., Etud. d'Ent., iii. p. 26, pi. ii. f. 4 (1878). 



Ex]i. al., I in. 11 lin. — 2 in. 5. lin. 



^ Deep-red (inclining to carmine), loith hlacJc spots and borders. 

 Fore-wing : base suffused with black, rather widely so towards inner 

 margin ; costa rather narrowly edged with black ; whole of hind-margin 

 with a narrow black border, which emits strongly-marked nervular rays ; 

 apex also more or less clouded with blackish near the border ; two good- 

 sized spots in discoidal cell, the outer one touching an oblique black 

 mark on costa immediately above it; a spot, variable in size, at ex- 

 tremity of cell 5 beyond it, but very close, a rather wide, irregularly- 

 shaped, black stripe from costa to near middle of hind-margin, where 

 its extremity touches, or almost touches, the first of a row of three spots 

 parallel to hind-margin, between third median nervule and submedian 

 nervure ; above first median nervule, close to its insertion, a rather 

 large, rounded, black spot ; below the same nervule, a little beyond the 

 latter spot, a similar, more kidney-shaped spot ; a more or less distinct 

 small black spot beyond middle, on inner margin, which is very nar- 

 rowly edged with black. Hind-wing : base suffused with black on both 

 sides of median nervure ; about twelve rather small, round, black spots 

 in basal half of loing, the outer seven or eight of which form a sinuated 

 transverse row ; a curved black streak at upper portion of extremity 

 of discoidal cell ; hind-margin with a moderately broad black border, 

 unspotted, which radiates strongly upon nervules. Under side. — Paler 

 and duller than upper side. Fore-wing : dull, creamy salmon-red ; a 

 small black mark on costa at base, but no black suffusion ; two spots 

 nearest to base wanting ; the other spots similar in number and arrange- 

 ment, but dull-blackish ; an additional small black spot just below 

 median nervure, before middle ; beyond the blackish stripe a small 

 space clouded with wJiitish ; no black border on hind-margin, but the 

 nervules are clouded with dark-grey near it, and there are broad, reddish- 

 ochre rays between the nervules all along hind-marginal border. Hind- 

 wing : reddish-ivhite ; black spots as on upper side, but three or four 

 more visible close to base, all very conspicuous ; interspersed among the 

 spots several pale-reddish marks ; hind-marginal band blackish, radiat- 

 ing in dark-grey on the nervules, and containing seven elongate, yel- 

 lowish or yellowish-white spots, between nervules, along its outer 

 portion ; immediately within band a row of elongate, wedge-shaped, 

 reddish-ochi-e marks between nervules. 



$ Very different from $, varying in ground-colour from dull-red to 

 dull-greyish or ochrcous-broivn, and even to hroionish-fuscous. Fore-wing : 



