MORPHO. By H. Fruhstorfer. 335 



eially some for which Dr. Statjdinger was responsible. I have to thank Dr. Jordan most sincerely for his 

 valuable help. 



Genus: Morplio F. 



Tato groups : a) Hindwing with projecting tail-like appendage or deeply sinuate. Upper surface mthout 

 metalhc sheen; tegumen with miusually broad lamellae. Iphimedeia nom. 7iov. 



b) Huid-wing as a rule romided or only slightly waved, upper surface (only one exception) with brilliant 

 reflection; tegumen with finger-shaped excrescences. Morpho. 



Group Iphimedeia Frulist. 



Species withoxit metallic gloss on the upper surface, which varies from greenish blue to whitish in aU gradations. 

 The colouring vei'y inconstant, the extremes sometimes not even confined to any fixed locality. Upper discoceUular long, 

 middle only inappreciably concave (i. e. proxknaUy curved), the lower straight and placed at right angles to the anterior 

 median. Cell of the forewing very narrow at the apex. Uncus broad, lateral clasps strikmgly flat, valve without distal 

 points. Most species love the sunshine, ascend to a great height and fly exclusively round the tops of tall trees. 



M. hercules is confined to central and southern Brazil, where it occurs from Espiritu Santo to Sta. 

 Catharina and ascends from the lowlands to about 800 — 1000 m. Flies chiefly in March. Concerning the early 

 stages I am indebted to the detailed account furnished by Herr Zikan, who has bred M. hercules from the 

 larva in ilinas Geraes and whose report of his breeding we here reprint : r 



"J/, hercules has one generation and fhes in February and March. The eggs are laid on the leaves of a 

 climbing plant (Cipo) %vith thick hard leaves (somewhat resembhng those of the coffee-tree) and yellow fruit. 

 This Cipo becomes rather thick and grows even in the liighest trees. It seems to me to prefer dry ground and 

 the tops of mountains. When small the larvae rest closely pressed together on a leaf wliich they cover with 

 web as they do also the twigs on which they crawl to their food. I found them in numbers varying from 17 to 150 

 specimens; once even about 300, but I suspect that the latter came from more than one batch of eggs. I 

 noticed that the butterfly prefers to lay its eggs in the decumbent tips of the Cipo, sometimes even quite low, 

 about the height of a man and even lower. Others again I found very liigh, so that it required some cou- 

 rage to fetch them down from the giddy height. The first larvae (150 specimens) were found on the 30th Sep- 

 tember 1907. Most of them were moulting. They were about 1 ^4 cm. in length, apparently after the first moult, 

 as they underwent four more moults in captivity (including pupation). On the 13 October the first two larvae 

 performed the second moult in capti%^ty. When collected the colour of the larvae was red, body hairy, dorsal 

 Kne lighter, with hair-tufts on both sides, the longest hairs being white. Head large, dark red, nearly black. 

 After this second moult the hairs became denser and longer, especially at the sides. By 30 October all but 

 twelve had moulted; four specimens had died, being stung by chpterous parasites. On the 10 November I 

 noticed the first larva had completed the third moult; by the end of November most of them had moulted. 

 Before the fourth moult, that is before pupation, the larva changes to a dirty green colour. I found the first 

 larva in this condition on the 17 December and the first pupa the 31 December; on the 27 January the last 

 larva pupated. From about 1200 larvae I obtained 800 pupae. Very many of the former were stung, without 

 exception by flies. Others again dried up and went mouldy. The pupa is green, ringed with white. The colour 

 scarcely changes appreciably before the emergence of the butterflies. The pupal stage lasts in the ^^ 45 — 52 

 days, in the $2 57 — -60 days. The first butterfly emerged on the 4 February 1908, the last on the 21 March. 

 In addition to the $$ having a longer pupal period than the ^,^, their larvae also appear to pupate later. 

 For from the 19 to the 25 of February only 20 $$ emerged; wliilst from the 26 February to the 1 March only 

 9 ^^ emerged, against some 170 9$. About 50% of the pupae died, mostly dried up. When one broke 

 them open they were mouldy inside. I lost a large number of larvae through their being too crowded, other 

 larvae disturbing and knocking them down when they were pupating. Although I found the larvae of this 

 butterfly in such abundance I have only seen about a dozen butterflies in the open. They fly high like Morpho 

 nestira and not like M. achillaena, which keeps about 1 m. above the ground. 



With regard to the larvae I may add that it is best only to take them in the adult stage ; when collected 

 young they do not grow properly, as every time they are given fresh food they spin over it so as to get a foot- 

 hold, and in this way much nourishment is wasted. From those larvae which I collected when small I 

 obtained quite small butterflies, while those which were taken large yielded large and more brightly coloured 

 specimens. The hairs of the larva easily become detached, penetrate into soft places in the skin (between the 

 fingers, etc.) and cau.se irritation. The larvae live gregariously until pupation. They feed at night ; in the adult 

 stage they sit during the day underneath the Cipo or on the trunk of the tree round wMch is winds. When 

 small they sit on the spun-up leaves". 



The pupa differs from that of M. anaxibia in the longer, more robust form, the more developed horns 



