Publ. 5. VI. 1913. ACTINOTE. By Dr. K. Jorpay. 361 
the forewing stalked with the subcostals, rarely from the upper angle of the cell, abdomen for the most part red 
or yellow (cf. also A. callianthe). 
A. neleus Lat. (= nelea Godt.; 29 = are Hew., edulis Weym.) (81 b,c). Abdomen red. Sexes very similar. 
3S blue-black, very strongly glossy above, the costal margin and the distal half of the forewing as well as the 
distal margin of the hindwing slightly glossy; under surface brown-black, base of the hindwing pale yellow. 
In some $3 from Zamora (Ecuador) the forewing bears a red cell-spot on the under surface: g ab. haemera 
ab. nov. The 2, which in “Strtspezts Reise” was erroneously described and figured as g under the name 
edulis, has only a slight blue gloss and bears on the forewing a broad yellowish white median band, which 
is placed proximally to the end of the cell and runs obliquely to the hinder angle. Beneath the apex of the 
forewing and the entire hindwing are striped with yellowish grey and the forewing bears a distinct black, 
oblique discal band, which reaches neither the costal nor the inner margin and is placed distally to the me- 
dian band. — A pupa-case of this species sent to us by Fasst is grey-yellow, not chalk-white; the black 
subdorsal spines of the abdomen are only about half as long as the distance between the two spines of a 
single segment; the black markings are very extended on the dorsum of abdominal segments 2 and 3 and the 
following segments bear an interrupted black median line; the lateral markings are numerous and more or less 
regularly divided, not united into a longitudinal stripe. — A. nelews is one of the commoner species. It occurs 
both in the east and west of Colombia and Ecuador and apparently, unlike the following species, does not vary 
geographically. 
A. alcione. Wings above black, in some forms uniformly tinged with blue, in others entirely without 
blue, never strongly glossy; with or without yellow or orange area on the forewing. The abdomen usually 
red, occasionally grey-yellow, in some dark, smoky forms more or less extended black above. The @ is similar 
to the g. Distributed from Colombia to Bolivia in numerous geographical forms. The extremes are so diffe- 
rent in appearance that one might take them to be specifically separated. Yet the forms appear strictly to 
represent one another geographically, and moreover they shade so gradually into one another that for the 
present I can only regard them as forms of one species. Possibly, however, theophila occurs independently 
together with alcione, in which case it must rank as a species. We are not yet well informed as to the 
distribution of the butterfly in North Peru; the material from those parts is very small in collections, and more- 
over the physiographical conditions seem often to vary there even at short distances and corresponding differen- 
ces to appear in the clothing of the butterflies. The earlier stages of A. alcione are not known. — varians 
Jord., from Central and West Colombia, occurs in three forms which fly together: f. cyanea form. nov. Upper 
suriace of both wings uniform blue, without a trace of markings. This common form probably only occurs in 
the male. It resembles A. neleus, but lacks the strong gloss of that species. In f. varians Jord. the forewing 
above bears a washed-out, oblique yellowish flesh-coloured band in the basal half; the @ is larger than the 
5 and the band is somewhat less reddish in tone. In f. extensa form. nov. the band is widened, more sharply 
defined and occupies 14 or ?/s of the basal half of the wing, but also remains distant from the base; rest of 
the upper surface as blue as in f. varians and f. cyanea. Intergrades between the 3 forms are of common 
occurrence; on the underside examples of f. cyanea also often bear a flesh-coloured stripe before the hind- 
margin and f. varians and f. extensa have a similarly coloured narrow discal band. This band is usually 
indicated in f. cyanea also and distinct traces of it are visible in exceptional cases on the upper surface of f. 
extensa. — elatus Druce flies at Paramba in West Ecuador. The upper surface much less distinctly blue than 
in the different forms of varians. The forewing always has a pale orange median area on the upperside, 
reaching from the lower angle of the cell to about halfway to the base, but varying somewhat in extent; 
beneath the area is mostly much paler, almost straw-coloured, and nearly reaches the base and the hinder 
angle; a narrow discal band of the same colour is at least indicated and traces of it are occasionally found on 
the upper surface also. Abdomen paler red than in fresh specimens of varians. ROSENBERG took numerous 
specimens cf this subspecies during his stay in Paramba in March, April and May, at elevations of somewhat 
over 1000 m. — sarsanda Druce (82d). The yellow area is so densely covered with smoke-colour above and be- 
neath that only a few scales have retained a pure yellow colour, though individual examples incline towards 
elatus; the discal band is indicated beneath or may be entirely absent. Abdomen broadly black. Chimbo, 
West Ecuador, met with by Rospenpere in large numbers at 300 m. in August. — subelatus subsp. nov. (81 ¢). 
Only two or three 9g are known to me: Los Llanos (type) and Balsabamba, Ecuador. These specimens 
form the transition from elatus to melina. The yellow area is somewhat deeper coloured than in elatus and as in 
that subspecies is placed at a distance from the base, but there is always a distinct stripe immediately 
before the hindmargin of the wing, while in elatus this is at most merely indicated; a short discal macular 
band present. Beneath the hindwing and the distal margin and apex of the forewing are still more strongly 
striped with grey-yellow than in sarsanda and hence the black discal band of the forewing stands out sharply. 
The under surface of our figure is somewhat too reddish and the black discal band too near the distal 
margin. — melina Jord. The pale orange area is more sharply defined than in subelatus, extends nearly to the 
base and is cut off sharply at the anterior margin of the cell; discal band more distinct. Hindwing and apex 
of forewing darker beneath than in subelatus and alcione. Rio Negro in Nerth-East Peru (not to be confused 
Vv 46 
neleus. 
haemera. 
varians. 
cyanea. 
extensa. 
elatus. 
sarsanda. 
subelatus. 
melina. 
