HELICONIUS. By Dr. A. Serrz. 381 
The black apical area encloses numerous small sulphur-yellow spots arranged in two rows and continuing 
somewhat on the rufous discal area. Hindwing with a series of isolated black spots crossing the middle of the 
wing; the apex black, with a light tear-shaped spot. — A very similar form, novatus Bat. (= illustris Weym., 
spadicarius Weeks) (72 d) from Bolivia and Peru, has the brown-yellow ground-colour paler, rather dull ochreous, 
and the black markings of the forewings partly reduced, giving way to a sulphur-yellow band. Hindwing pre- 
cisely as in mira. — In leopardus Weym. (73 a) from Bolivia the oblique band of the forewing is quite broad, 
brillant lemon-yellow and fairly well defined, sharply contrasting with the duller, more chestnut-brown ground- 
colour. — ab. subnubilus Stich. from Peru, and ab. obscurior Stich. from Bolivia, refer to darker specimens 
suffused with fuscous, such as are known among all the yellow-brown species of Heliconius; such melanisms 
are especially common and pregnant among the various forms of narcaea, without, however, having received 
any special names. 
H. urania Mill. (= pasithoé Cr., hecale F.) (73 a). This easily recognizable species is referred to in the 
three latest works under its three synonyms. MULLER gave this name to a Heliconius which is unmistakably 
recognized from his figure, and which cannot be confounded with Linnt’s Papilio wrania (a Tenaris). For that 
reason we follow WeymMER. Two forms are known, both black witha dull white, black-spotted band crossing the 
forewing and with three whitish subapical spots. The typical form of Guayana has the groundcolour above 
coal-black, whereas in fulvescens Lathy (73 a) from Demerara the inner half is suffused with brown. This species 
is one of the less common Heliconius. 
H. aristiona. It is doubtful whether the 20 forms described all belong to one and the same species, 
the greater number of them being distinctly separated geographically. This seems less to depend upon the 
climatic conditions of their home than upon the models which they find there, that is to say upon the outward 
appearance of the Danaid species which occur in the same locality. The typical aristiona Hew. (73 d) comes from 
Bolivia and Peru, being only found, although not everywhere, where the exceedingly common Melinaea mo- 
thone (32 e) occurs; there we find also Mechanitis deceptus, Hyposcada fallax (38 ¢), Ceratinia semifulva (34 d), 
Eresia murena (91 ¢), a very similar lampeto-form of the genus Hueides etc.; indeed in some localities the majority 
of all the more common butterflies look like H. aristiona, and it is only after their capture that one realizes that 
but few of them really belong to that species. Very similar to this quite unmistakable, typical aristiona is the 
form bicolorata Btlr. (= peruana Hpffr.) (73d), likewise from Peru; the black apex is cut off pretty straight 
from the rufous discal area, and the brown colour reaches the termen in cell 1 and 2 (between submedian 
vein and the median nervules). — splendida Weym. (73d). Like aristiona, but with the base of the forewings and 
the apex of the hindwings dusted with dull chestnut-brown; from Bolivia. — timaeus Riff. (73 d) from Peru 
resembles in the forewing aristiona typica, being somewhat more profusely spotted with black; but the hindwing 
is not black, but brown-yellow, with an incomplete band similar to that found in the forewing, and an equally 
interrupted series of median spots, both obsolete before the apex. — phalaris Weym. (73 e), from the Brazilian 
Rio Madeira, has the entire hindwing deep black, only the apical area being brillant rufous whereas the apex 
of the forewing is laved with rufous just from the tip inwards. — In seraphion Weym. (73 c) from Iquitos 
the apex of the forewing is black, with a yellow-brown subapical band, sharply separated from the likewise 
yellow-brown discal area by a black oblique band. On the hindwing a black median band separated from the 
black termen by the yellow-brown ground-colour. This is undoubtedly due to the influence of certain forms of 
Heliconius belonging to other groups flying in the same locality, giving rise to such a great similarity that when 
flying neither can be distinguished from the other. — arcuella Druce (73 c) from Ecuador is quite similar, but 
more brillant yellow; in its markings it almost exactly coincides with the following aurora, only the apex of the 
forewing is quite different. — aurora Bat. (73b) would be like aristiona, were it not for a lemon-yellow 
oblique spot in the apex of the forewing which gives it an entirely different look. — elegans Weym. (73 c) from 
Peru, Bolivia and Amazonas, possesses likewise the lemon-yellow apical streak; but this is not separated from 
the brown-yellow apical area by a broadly black band, but gradually shades into it, only a few black scales 
occasionally indicating their line of contact. From aurora it is easily distinguished by having on the hindwing 
the black median band separated from the black termen by a streak of the yellow-brown ground-colour. — 
euphrasius Weym. (73 b) from Colombia and Ecuador probably does not belong here, but rather to the next 
following group. Forewing like that of novatus, but lacking the apical spots; the hindwing is traversed from the 
anal angle to the middle of the costal margin by a dirty brown band, leaving the base of the hindwings as well 
as alarge spot in the lower half of the same wing suffused with black; also the forewing obscured with sooty black. 
— lenaeus Weym. (73e) from Ecuador, Peru and Colombia has the forewings marked as in ewphrasius, but 
the ground-colour is yellow-brown, not suffused with black, the lemon-yellow band is narrower, the black 
discal spots smaller, the submedian band greatly reduced. The hindwings, however, are quite different, uniformly 
yellow-brown, occasionally traversed by a dark median row of dots, which give it a suprising resemblance to 
Melinuea zaneka (32 e) which also flies in Ecuador. In exactly the same way the form tarapotensis Riff. from 
Tarapoto coincides with its model Melinaea tarapotensis Haensch, a form of Mel. menophilus (32 e) flying in 
the same locality; the base of the hindwings is adorned with rows of black dots, which, however, only reach to 
novatus. 
leopardus. 
subnubilus. 
obscurior. 
urania. 
julvescens. 
aristiona. 
bicolorata. 
splendida. 
timaeus. 
phalaris. 
seraphion. 
arcuella. 
aurora, 
elegans. 
euphrasius. 
lenaeus. 
