: . ANCYLURIS. By J)r. A, Seitz. 667 



are constant differences distinctly noticeable, often combine several forms, in case they prove to be confined 

 to finding-places, but not to districts being definable with respect to the fauna. They are then nothing else 

 but sub-races picked out ad libitum or by chance, just as they were before the author, and their separation 

 would necessitate an almost never ending continuation of further descriptions which would also be in future 

 increased by every fresh exploitation of a new finding-place. Many species are rather common at their habi- 

 tats. Thejr come to the water early in the morning and. in day-time, they fly round the tops of high bushes. 



A. aulestes Cr. Blackish-brown with a straight and entirely uniform band of the upper surface, which aulesles. 

 may be sometimes narrower, more scarlet, sometimes broad and very bright red. The q i.s characterized bj' 

 the small red anal band extending with its middle tip far into the anal lobe of the tail. The 2 may have 

 white, yellow or also red bands; it even occurs, as the figured $ shows, with yellowish-brown bands; but 

 the middle bands are always straight and in the hindwing thej' bend round towards the middle of the inner 

 margin in an almost right (though not sharp) angle. Beneath, the cJ is of a deep metallic blue with dark 

 shades being differently distributed at every habitat; of the red bands there has remained here the end of 

 the band of the forewing before the inner angle and the angular part of the band of the hindwing. It is 

 not possible to define geographically the numerous forms of which there are before me about 10 more roughly 

 discernible ones; Stichel tried to do so in 1909, but he partly gave it up again in 1910. In order to maintain 

 the names applied to them as much as possible, we may distinguish the very narrow-banded (J(J, to which 

 there are white-banded $2 before me, as eryxo Sndrs. (129 g), broader-banded ones as lamprotaenia Stick, eryxo. 

 (129 f ), and those with very broad and bright red bands as olivencia Stgr. i. I. The numerous transitions °'"P''^ "^^.^ 

 of these variations may very well remain nameless. The $2 may have whitish bands {eryxo), jellow (tadema olivencia. 

 Stgr.) to brownish bands (aulestes typica) or also red ones (aulica Stick.), glaphyra Sndrs. has, like tadema a tadema. 

 yellow, though much broader median band. — jocularis Stick. (129 f, g) are (JrJ with red bands on the upper qiaphyra. 

 surface as thin as a thread; at some finding-places they occur in uncommonly great numbers, especially in jocularis. 

 Colombia, and they are usually contained in the so-called ,, Bogota-Collections". — ab. vastata Stick, is the va.sfata. 

 denomination of a very common aberration which looks very much altered by the red band above being ab- 

 sent on one or both wings or being incomplete or interrupted. Sometimes in the o the band of the upper sur- 

 face is white instead of red (= insolita Stick.): we figure such a specimen. In spite of some 30 $$ before us insolifa. 

 we cannot discover 2 quite equal ones, since they all originate from different collections (consecj^uentlj" from 

 different finding-places). The small red anal ba.ncl is mostly far remote from the median band, but it may 

 also touch it and be broadly confluent with is, what may occur in 5$ with j^ellow, brown and whitd bands. 



— pandama Sndrs. (129 g, 130 a) which I figure according to specimens taken in November, is a rather pandama. 

 large race with very uniform red bands; 2$ of it I have not captured; normal specimens are said to be provided 



with bright red bands; from Santos in South America. Finally there occur also (J^J with a light band in the 

 distal part of the forewing and such Avith a faint hue of a blue reflection between the red median band and 

 the distal margin. Among the more than 1000 sj^ecimens of this species before me, of which there are 

 alone several hundreds in the Tring Museum, the above-mentioned characters occur combined in manifold 

 variations; any further denominations of these combinations would only lead to a confusion. — The aulestes 

 are good flyers ; I only found them at an open space in the woods, but always at the same bush from the top 

 of which they sometimes were playfully whirling up. They were not easy to capture. — • Northern parts of South 

 America to Peru and South Brazil. 



A. meliboeusi^. (129 d, e). Very much like the preceding species, but in the (J there is instead of the mdibocus. 

 small undulated red band before the anal lobe of the hindwing a red crescent. Among the very numerous 

 forms of this species there are also such forming the transition to the preceding, so that I doubt whether 

 both groups can be sharply separated. Here are also forms with median bands as thin as a thread, which, 

 of course, can be denominated just as nuich (or as little) as in aulestes and which probably represent the 

 rubrofilum Stick. (129 e). Staudingees i.-l. -denomination boliviana was for good reasons not used by Stichel, ruhrofilum. 

 for ruhrofilum occurs also outside of Bolivia, and in Bolivia itself there are also found such ^^'ith broader bands. 



— Julia Sndrs. (129 e) is a form with very glaring-red markings on a jet-black ground, with more intensely i'dia. 

 white-chequered fringes and with a broad anal crescent of the hindwing, the margin of Avhich is deeper un- 

 dulated. The 2 (always?) exhibits a white transverse stripe between the red band and the distal margin. — 

 eudaenion (S<^c^. is without the light dot near the base 01 the hindwing, which is said to occur always m typical cudacmon. 

 (J (J of melihoeus; the red band of the forewing also stands steeper and in the hindwing it terminates at the 



inner margin nearer to the anal angle, whereby the $ is said to be recognizable. — In miniola Bat. the small miniola. 

 whitish basal spot of the male hindwing is present, but the shape of the wings is different ; the apical part 

 of the forewing is broader and the anal lobe of the hindwing is more prolonged; the red median band uncom- 

 monly broad. — mendita Drc. has a flatter position of the band of the forewing and, in contrast with the pre- mcndita. 

 ceding form, shorter and rounder anal lobes of the hinclwings. — In melior Stick, the faint blue lustre of the mcUor. 

 distal area of the preceding form is stronger, particularly in the anal area of the hindwing also above; 

 a faint bluish lustre suffuses the whole upper surface in a very oblique light, producing on the median band 

 a more dull crimson than scarlet colour. The names pyretus Cr., pyritus Hffgg., pyrete Hhn.. pkonia Stick., 

 silvicultrix Stick. I take to be denominations of quite insignificant transitions; etias Sndrs. (129 f) is a form ciias. 



