METAMORPHA. By Dr. A. Serrz. 399 
Southern and Central Brazil near the coast, and it is necessary to be well acquainted in those regions in order 
to recognize this species among the host of similarly coloured Lepidoptera. It is rather common, but I have 
never observed it in great masses or swarms. 
E. aliphera Godt. (80 a). Upper surface bright fulvous, with black terminal border, forewing with black 
subcostal and median stripes and black oblique band; under surface buff, the veins dark. Widely distributed 
from Southern Brazil to Central America, along the east-coast, and far into the interior of the Continent to 
Bolivia and Peru. It is one of the commonest butterflies, varying but little since it exactly copies the very 
constant Colaenis julia (84 b). Only towards the northern limits of its range of distribution we find specimens 
having the colouring rather buff and with hardly any black on termen and transverse band, analogous to the 
form C. julia cillene (84 b) which also flies there; I call this form ab. cillenula ab. nov. (80b). aliphera always 
associates, aside from Col. julia, with the following similarly coloured species: Dione juno (84e), Megalura 
petrea, Eresia aveyrana (91d); undoubtedly also the Erycinid Lymnas thyatira of Guayana has adopted the pro- 
tective pattern. — In Mexico and Central America we find another copy of the narrow, bordered form of Col. 
julia tlying there; upper surface brillant fulvous, the black terminal border narrower, but more sharply defined, 
the intranerval points stronger: = gracilis Stich. — Larva on Passiflorae; white, at the back yellow, marked 
with brown and armed with black spines. Pupa dirty white, with dark spines and humps, the back and wing- 
cases marked with brown. 
3. Genus: Metamorpha Hon. 
The only species of this genus, Metamorpha dido, was formerly united with Colaenis; but the most 
superficial examination of the shape of the insect and its wings, of the venation and in some respects also 
the earlier stages, shows us at once that it is an American representative of the Indian genus Cethosia. This 
fact becomes even more evident in the living insect. On approaching in the forests near Rio some larger clea- 
ring, one may notice a large, pale-coloured butterfly, flying slowly in a straight line, with a peculiarly slow, 
dream-forlorn motion, from one end to the other of the open space; suddenly, just before reaching the far end 
of the clearing, it turns around with a jerk, returning the same way in the opposite direction. This game is 
being continued for hours, for days, even for weeks, and one may observe its colours which in the beginning 
were quite fresh, fading and being rubbed off, may see the tears and rents in its wings growing larger after each 
shower. Sometimes it disappears for an hour or two, to rest onsome vine or to sip honey from one of the neigh- 
bouring blossoming trees. In larger clearings one may occasionally observe two or more of these butterflies, 
each enjoying the same game; as soon as they see one another, they interrupt their flight for a moment, circle 
a few times around each other and then each returns to its post again. If one captures one of them, its place is, 
after a few days, generally taken by another one. These butterflies are Metamorpha dido. 
Among Indian butterflies I know none that offers the same spectacle in so characteristic a manner 
as Cethosia nietneri. Anyone who has observed in the open air the two insects which in their outward appea- 
rance widely deviate from each other, must be struck with the close analogy in the habits of these two species 
which are separated by such enormous distances. But also their structure offers a good many analogous 
features: The broad head, the stout, densely haired palpi, the naked eyes, the long antennae in which the clubs 
are wanting, the shape of thorax and abdomen, the curved and dentate hindwings, as well as the venation, 
agree most closely in almost every point. Many have pointed out the difference in the cell of the hindwing 
which in Wetamorpha is open, in Cethosia closed, but this is more than counterbalanced by the many analo- 
gies. Thus Metamorpha has on the forewing the first subcostal nervule arising before the end of the cell, just 
as in most Cethosias, whereas in Colaenis julia it originates exactly at the end and in Col. phaerusa behind it. 
The caterpillars are armed with spines, one pair of which, placed behind the head, is stronger than the rest; 
the pupa bluntly angular, the abdominal segments with dorsal prominences. The larva feeds on Passiflora; 
its grows very rapidly, the entire time required to mature the imago from the egg occupying less than 6 weeks. 
M. dido. Wings transparent green, bordered with black; black bands crossing the forewings from the 
apex of the cell to the middle of the termen, the hindwing from apex to inner margin. Under surface with the 
bands and margins grey-fuscous, shaded with darker. Distributed throughout the northern part of South 
America and Central America, from Honduras to southern Brazil, Bolivia and Peru. — ostara Rob. (84a) is 
by far the largest form, ranging from Colombia to Peru, distinguished by the pale yellow-green colouring. 
— diatonica Fruhst. replaces the preceding in the north, from Honduras to Panama; much smaller than ostara, 
its colouring intermediate between this and the blue-green dido L. of Surinam; this is found as far south as 
Bolivia, but is on the Lower Amazon replaced by pygmalion Fruhst., characterized by the broader black 
bands both of the upper and lower surface; differs from wernickei in having the apex crescent-shaped instead 
of rounded, and on the hindwing the green ground-colour reduced by broader black bands. Ranges to Venezuela. 
— wernickei Rob. (84 a) has the green ground-colour and the black bands deeper black, underneath the brown- 
grey bands more uniform and rather narrower than in ostara. Southern Brazil and Paraguay. — Larva pale 
aliphera. 
cillenula. 
gracilis. 
ostara. ‘ 
diatonica. 
dido. * 
pygmalion. 
wernicker. 
