30 LEPIDOPTEEA INBICA. 



Habits. — " The Acrsinse are butterflies of very slo^ Aiglit, and usually 

 congregate in some numbers in their favourite haunts. Some species prefer open 

 localities, -where they bask with expanded wings on low flowers, strongly reminding 

 one of the European Melitteae, others the outskirts of woods, and some are 

 thoroughly sylvan. The deliberate movements of these butterflies and their complete 

 disregard of concealment, in conjunction with their conspicuous appearance, indicate 

 very clearly that little if any active persecution of them is carried on ; in common 

 with the Dauainje, they owe this immunity to their malodorous and uneatable 

 nature, which leads insectivorous animals to pass them by. The peculiar odour of 

 these butterflies seems to reside chiefly in a bright yellow liquid secretion, which, on 

 pi"essure of the thorax, exudes somewhat copiously. Many of them are objects of 

 mimicry, by butterflies belonging to other groups. 



" The larvJB are very gregarious, feeding in companies, and fully exposed. The}* 

 emit a rather offensive odour, of the same character, but not so strong, as that in 

 the perfect insect. They feed on plants of several different Orders, and some are 

 very destructive to Passion-flowers in gardens. 



" The pupee are remarkably handsome, and usually very conspicuous from their 

 white or yellowish colour, veined and streaked with black, and marked abdominally 

 with orange and black spots, orange tubercles, or pink filaments. Their showy 

 appearance doubtless serves to indicate to the hungry insectivorce a distasteful 

 morsel. 



" Though ranging throughout the tropical regions, the Acra^inre find their main 

 development in Africa and its islands" (R. Trimen, Butt, of S. Africa, 130 (1887). 



Genus PAREBA. 



Acraa (sect. 5 Pareha), Doubleday, Gen. D. Lap. i. p. 1-12 (1S48). de Niceville, Butt, of India, i. 

 p. 318 (1883). Leech, Butt, of China, etc., i. p. 114 (1892). 



Imago. — Male. Forewing elongated, narrow, triangular; costal margin to near 

 end almost straight ; apex rounded, exterior margin very oblique and slightly convex, 

 even ; posterior margin almost straight ; costal vein extending to fully three-fourths of 

 the margin ; first subcostal emitted at the end of the cell, second at one-third 

 beyond, third at one-half, and fourth at two-thirds beyond ; cell long, upper end 

 extending to more than half length of the wing; discocellulars outwardly-oblique, 

 upper extremely short, middle obliquely concave, lower very oblique and almost 

 straight ; radials outwardly curved ; median branches wide apart, upper branch 

 much curved, niddle branch straight and emitted at some distance before lower end 

 of cell, lower b-anch straight; submedian slightly recurved. Hindicing elongated 

 and narrowly oval ; anterior margin nearly straight, apex rounded, exterior margin 



