378 HELICONIUS. By Dr. A. Szrrtz. 
very long, much broader at the apex, rather soft and always displaying gay, often very bright colours. Only of 
one species (Helic. erato) I know an aberrative form having the forewings entirely black, without any markings. 
_ Hindwings oval with evenly rounded, very seldom feebly undulate termen. As in the Indian Huploea, we find 
narcaea. 
connexa. 
polychrous. 
satis. 
flavomacu- 
latus. 
physcoa. 
asmenius. 
immoderata. 
defasciatus. 
fasciatus. 
faunus. 
hermanni. 
telchinia. 
on the inner margin of the forewings beneath and in the costal area of the upper side of the hindwings a fric- 
tion surface, frequently displaying a silky gloss, but never any tufts or pencils of hair as are characteristic 
of many Ithomiinae. The subcostal is five-branched, the system of radials complete and intact, displaying 
no tendency to dissolve or give way to an higher development of the costal or median systems of veins. In 
the forewing the cell is mostly broad and about half the length of the wing, in the hindwing short and narrow; 
the former frequently hes near the base a median spur; the submedian is single at the base; but the hind- 
wings lack the anal fold found in most other Nymphalids, serving to receive the abdomen when at rest. 
All the species of Heliconius eagerly visit flowers, many displaying a decided predilection far certain 
blossoms; they are anything but shy, and even when frightened, fly so slowly that they are without any diffi- 
culty captured unless they fly too high. Once inthe net, they generally keep quite still, so that it is easy to have 
perfect specimens. The colouring is mostly yellow, brown-yellow or red upon a black ground, more rarely blue 
and very seldom green. The pupa often with silvery spots. 
H. narcaea Godt. (= eucrate Hbn.) (72a). The typical form is that from Southern Brazil, distinguished 
by its large size, a white apical spot, lemon-yellow subapical band, and brown-yellow, black-marked discus 
of the forewings; hindwing with a bright yellow longitudinal band. — ab. connexa (72a) ab. nov. is the 
name I have given to the small, generally dull coloured form having the brown-yellow discal markings of the 
forewing reduced to such a degree that the subapical band is separated from it by a black transverse bar. — 
In ab. polychrous Fldr. (72 b) the black and lemon-yellow tints are greatly increased, with a corresponding 
reduction of the brown-yelow. — As in all the brightly coloured Heliconius, there occur, especially towards 
the end of longer periods of rain, specimens suffused with black, offering all possible grades and transitions 
to the typical form; in other species they have received special names, as f. i. subnubilus Stich. and obscurior 
Stich. (belonging to novatus), but unjustly, as they cannot be either strictly defined nor limited to one 
species or subspecies. — ab. satis Weym. (= infuscata Stgr.) (72 2) resembles typical narcaea, but on the hind- 
wing the longitudinal band is not pale yellow, but brown-yellow, and the apical spot of the forewings mostly 
suffused with fuscous. — flavomaculatus Weym. (72 2) refers to a local form distinguished by having the api- 
cal spot of the forewing lemon-yellow; I have never taken this form together with narcaea or any one of its aber- 
rations with white apical spots; it is only found in Central Brazil, as f. i. near Bahia and in Espiritu Santo, 
together with the likewise yellow-spotted Mechanitis nessaea; narcaea, on the other hand, flies exclusively in 
Southern Brazil, in company of Wechanitis lysimnia which also has white spots. — Besides greatly varying in 
colour, the species also deviates in the markings which may very in either direction. Only one form shall be spe- 
cially named: ab. physcoa ab. nov. (72 b). This form which I took occasionally at Santos, where it was, however, 
always scarce, has the yellow band on the hindwing very much broader, which enables one to distinguish it 
even when flying, nothwithstanding its great resemblance in colouring to polychrous. — H. narcaea is one of 
the commonest Heliconius and butterflies altogether. It is limited to the eastern parts of Central and Sou- 
thern Brazil, the form flavomaculatus occurring more in the North, eucrate in the South. Localities where, 
as it is stated in “Tierreich’”’ (Vol. 22, p. 40), both occur side by side, are not known. Occasionally they come 
even into the gardens, and are found in the suburbs of Rio.— The egg is conoidal, lemon-yellow; the larva 
feeds on various species of Passiflora; it is brown-yellow, later on whitish with black markings and black spines, 
those at the head longer and slightly curving backwards. Pupa with rather long wing-shaped appendages at 
the head, and black dorsal spines, yellow-brown, marked with fuscous; abdomen adorned at the sides with faint 
silvery spots. The imago is found throughout the year, without any interruption, in open spots, along garden- 
hedges or bamboo-walls, sipping the honey from a great variety of flowers, generally keeping the wings closed, 
whereas other Heliconius, as f. i. phyllis, keep them generally wide open; the species is exceedingly common 
and, unless flying too high, easy to capture. 
H. ismenius Latr. (= fritschei Wéschl.) (72 b) is found in Colombia, where it is in certain localities very 
common; it is an exact copy of Melinaea messatis (33 d) with which it associates, undergoing all the variations 
in colouring to which this Danaid species is subject. — ab. immoderata Stich. has on the hindwing an uninter- 
rupted, black median band of greater width than in typical ismenius, whereas in ab. defasciatus Neust. this band 
has been reduced to mere traces left at the apex of the hindwing. — Intermediate between these two is 
ab. fasciatus Godm. and Salv., which is found farther north, in southern Central America; here the black band on 
the hindwings is complete, but not increased in width. — faunus Stgr. (72 c), likewise found in Colombia together 
with the typical form, has on the forewing the apical spots yellow instead of white; — in hermanni R7ff. these 
are greatly reduced in size. In the 3 we still find traces of the white macular band traversing the wing behind 
the cell. Not scarce, but local. 
H. telchinia DoJ. (72). This, the largest species of Heliconius known, is by most authors united with 
ismenius; but, although connected with it by intermediate forms, it is of quite different appearance. The dis- 
