1898.] COLLECTED IN NATAL AND MASHON ALAND. 187 



butterflies which have been regarded as distinct, and the varietal 

 character o£ which is still called in question by some of the leading 

 lepidopterists in this country. 



Speaking of the series from Mashoualand, Mr. Marshall 

 observes : — " My Mashonaland collections, which I had intended 

 to take home with me, have only just arrived here (or rather half 

 of them), having been fourteen months coming down from Salisbury! 

 I find among the Teracoli a single dry-season male of T. hilde- 

 brancUi (which at the time I took to be a sport of T. annce) and 

 also a female of T. pallene, Hopfif., which is almost identical with 

 the figure of your T. infumatus. 



" You will find three" males and one female of a ' Lyccena ' from 

 the Karkloof, which Trimen considers to be only a variety of his 

 L. niobe, but which I think is probably specifically distinct. It 

 was discovered by Hutchinson and Barker in 1892 on Mr. Ball's 

 farm in the Karkloof District near Maritzburg, and has apparently 

 never been taken elsewhere. From their account (I have never seen 

 it in life) it diflPers much in habits from typical L. niobe. It has 

 been found only within a very limited area, a few acres in extent, 

 flying rapidly over a patch of very long rank grass along the out- 

 skirts of a clump of forest, and being on the wdng only in autumn 

 (viz. March and April). 



" L. niobe is distributed throughout Natal (it varies above in 

 being either blue or brown), frequenting open country with short 

 grass, and flying with a low, rapid flight ; it occurs only during 

 the spring months. 



" It will be unnecessary to point out the difi^erences in colouring, 

 the most noticeable of \Ahich are the different position of the 

 discal row on underside of secondaries and the presence of the 

 metallic-green spot at anal angle in the ' variety.' I am sorry 

 that the specimens are in such poor condition ; they were given 

 to me by Mr. Ball." 



Mr. Marshall did not forward the male of " T. hildebmndti," 

 but it probably is what he at first supposed — a mere sport of 

 T. annce, correspondiug in colouring with the T. callidea (=hilde- 

 brandti) form of the Nyasa species. The two species are very 

 closely related — little more than local forms, in fact. 



As regards the " Lyccena," I quite agree with Mr. Marshall that 

 it requires a distinctive name ; it certainly is not identical with 

 Gatochrysops niobe, but is a finer and more brightly coloured 

 species. 



The following is a list of the species received in Mr. Marshall's 

 last consignment : — 



Ntmphalidje. 



Sattkin^. 



1. Samanta perspicua (var. simonsi Butl.). 



Mazoe, 4000 feet, 30th October, 1894; Gadzima, 4200 feet, 

 Umfuli Eiver, Mashonaland, 30th July, 1895. 



