HELICONIUS. By Dr. A. Serrz. 387 
= amaryllis Dist., petiverana Godm. and Salv.) (76 b) resembles above, as may be judged from its synonyms, 
petiverana, columbina, demophoon etc.; forewing with narrow red transverse band, hindwing with yellow, 
pointed subcostal streak. From Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia. — amaryllis Fldr., the name-type, from 
Peru and the adjacent parts of northern Brazil, resembles the preceding, but has the red band of the forewing 
much broader; on the under surface there are fewer red basal dots and the costal stripe is absent. — euryas 
Bsd. (= melpomene Bat.) and euryades Riff. (76 b) are mere aberrations of the preceding form, lacking above 
on the hindwings the yellow band, which only faintly shines through from underneath; ewryas represents the 
form rosina, euryades amaryllis; hindwings without the yellow band. The former occurs in Central America, 
Colombia and Venezuela, ewryades in Colombia, Venezuela end Trinidad. All the forms of this species may or 
may not display a blue iridescence. — amaryllis flies the whole year round, and counts in its home (f. i. at 
Tarapoto) among the commonest butterflies, but is especially abundent during certain periods (May end Octo- 
ber). Specimens found in the mountain-forests are said to be larger than those from the arid plains. Several 
different aberrations are known, having f. ithe? band of, the” hindwing white instead of yellow. 
H. vuleanus Bilr. (76 c). The typical form above like ewryas, but with very short white fringe of the 
wings. Forewing beneath with traces of a yellowish-white median line; Colombia and Panama; said to 
range as far as Guayana, but this must be a mistake. — In fa. cythera Hew. (76d) which in Ecuador 
flies together with the very similar Hel. cyrbia (78 a), the hindwings have the distal border whitish, the 
forewings the red transverse band edged with yellow proximally. — medesta Riff. from Paramba in Ecuador 
stands midway between vulcanus and cythera; on the forewing the band is as narrow as in the latter, but 
the termen of the hindwing shows no white at all or very little. — In concinna Stich. the band of the 
forewing is half yellow, the termen distinctly spotted with white; from Balzabamba. 
H. xenoclea. The forms belonging to this group have on the forewing two bands, one behind the other, 
a characteristic distinguishing them from most other red-banded Heliconius. But the similarity of their forms 
is partly depending on mimicry, and they have no more to do with each other than cyrbia and cythera. If, as 
sometimes happens, both bands flow together, they of course show only one spot, which is, however, so broad 
that with the exception of the apex and base the whole wing is occupied by it. We know two quite similar 
forms, both above black, marked on the forewing with 2 red semi-bands or spots, the upper one of which 
is vase-shaped, the lower one obliquely oval; both fly simultaneously at the same places in Ecuador and 
Peru, but differ from one another in that the $¢ of one have the costal area of the hindwing greyish- 
white, 2nd on the under surface of the forewing the inner margin glossed es far as the median vein (scent- 
organ), whereas the $¢ of the other, otherwise quite similar form have no gloss on the under surface of 
the forewings, and the costal area of the hindwing is brown above. To which of these the type belongs which 
was named xenoclea by Huwirson, was for a long time doubtful. The specimens in Hewrrson’s collection 
are set so low, that the costal margin of the hindwings remains invisible. Rrrrarru evidently believed, — pro- 
bably mislead by Hewrrson’s figure, — that the g of Hmwrrson’s xenoclea had the costal margin of the 
hindwing brown, and called therefore the form with glossy white-grey anterior margin “‘batesi’”’. Later investi- 
gations, however, seem to have proved this to be an error; for the type of xenoclea in Hrwrrson’s collection 
has actually a pale costal margin, for which reason the specimens with brown costal margin of the hindwing have 
been named microclea Kaye. As we do not attempt to arrange the groups from a systematic point of view, 
but only wish to render on easy recognition of the forms possible, we here bring both forms together, naturally 
as separate species. In recent years a good many aberrations were described of both forms, but partly in a 
manner that leaves it doubtful whether they belong to xenoclea or to microclea. — confluens Lathy (76 d) 
has the red spots broadly confluescent. The water-coloured illustrations of PLorrz’s show a'specimen with very 
bro2d apical spot, and specimens having the apical spot broadly, the discal spot quite narrowly bordered 
with red distally, but otherwise white, are named superba (76 b) by Latuy. — plesseni Riff. (— pure Niep.) 
from Ecuador has the spots altogether white, instead of red; the extracellular portion of the urn-shaped discal 
spot may be inwardly margined with brown-red (= corona Niep.), or the portion within the cell may be 
crimson (diadema Niep.). — adonis Riff. has on the forewing the spots dusted with yellow, the posterior 
one narrowly edged with red proximally. — In rubicunda Niep. they are all dusted with red. All these forms 
are, whereever they occur quite common. — The typical form xenoclea Hew. (= batesi Riff.) from Ecuador 
and Peru has both spots on the forewing bright minium-red. Of all the above named forms as well as of others 
we know transitions from red to almost white spots, either the outer or the inner spot being affected. 
Of H. microclea Kaye (= xenoclea Riff.) we know some particularly white specimens that were named 
notabilis Salv. and Godm.; both the apical and discal spots are clear white, only a very narrow streak at their 
inner margin remaining red. 
H. nanna Stich. (76 c) bears the same relation to the common Brazilian phyllis, as wenoclea Hew. to 
microclea Kaye. But above it shows the characteristic difference that the discal band is not sharply cut off 
amaryllis. 
euryas. 
eur yades. 
vulcanus. 
cythera. 
modesta. 
concinna. 
microclea. X 
confluens. %& - 
superba. 
plesseni. x 
corona. w 
diadema.% 
rubicunda. 
wenoclea.x 
microclea ye 
notabilis. 
nanna. 
