338 MORPHO. By H. Frtjhstorfer. 



very large, triangular grey-yellow median spots. Underside of the liindwing predominantly red-brown, with 

 violet sheen. Median band grey-violet. Length of the forewing 58 mm. 



M. hecuba is the largest known Morpho and one may also call it the most interesting, on account 

 of its habits, its susceiitibility to climatic influences and its tendency to develop polychromatic forms in both 

 sexes. We are indebted to Dr. Hahnbl for the most detailed information of its habits of flight. Hahnel 

 calls it the king of the forest, and says that it traverses a "nader area than any other butterfly, travelling 

 perhaps 30 km. or more in two or three hours, continuous flight in quest of its mate, which it follows persis- 

 tenth' for whole days, quite alone, over woods and water-courses. In the distance the flight of Morpho Jie- 

 C'uba looks quiet and slow, but nevertheless it moves quickly enough to evade the collector and newly emerged 

 insects in particular adopt an impetuous pace during their first hours of flight. Sometines it happens that 

 one of these apparently quietly hovering forms suddenly darts head do-miwards, and in tliis event it seems 

 only to rise again with difficulty. They are driven to these violent erratic movements by dragon-flies, which lie 

 in wait for them especially in marshy places and molest them from the tips of dry tmgs, apparently more 



hecuba. out of wantonness than from a desire to catch them. — • hecuba L., the name-type, is distinguished by the 

 contrast between the reddish brown forewing and the nearly black liindwing, which is only basally relieved with 

 yello'nish white. Forewing with yellowish, liindwing with white cilia. The mider surface is remarkable for 

 the silvery bands, which in nature are even clearer and more brilliant than in our figure (67 c). hecuba is 

 one of the rarest butterflies and exclusively inhabits Surinam. What is labelled as hecuba in collections and 

 sold as such by English dealers is a very similar local form but differing considerably, especially beneath, 

 obidonus. namely obidonus Fruhst., wliicli only occurs on the north bank of the Lower Amazon. Of the numerous dif- 

 ferences from hecuba hecuba L. the following may be mentioned: The distal black border of the forewing is 

 broader, the proximal (inner) submarginal row of yellow spots consists of rounded instead of elongate patch- 

 es. The basal area of both forewing and hindwing is not yellowish but chalk-wliite. Abdomen conformably 

 with the basal colour pure white, not yellowish as in hecuba. The reddish submarginal spots of the hindwing 

 absent; all the ciUa of the hindwing pure white, while the upper ciha of hecuba are yellowish. The colo- 

 ration of obidonus beneath is still further removed from the type, the gromid-colour of the former being predo- 

 minantly black, that of hecuba red-brown, obidonus is further characterized beneath by the absence of the 

 ultracellular red-brown triangles between the median veins of the forewing. The ocelli of the liindwing are 

 smaller, with reduced black iris, but still as complete as those of hecuba, and not posteriorly open as on our 

 heraclcs. figure; the latter belongs to a hitherto mmamed race from the JNIiddle Amazon, heracles subsp. nov. (67 c), 

 in which the bordering of the ocelli is not rounded but horseshoe-shaped, heracles, however, agrees with 

 hecuba in the double row of reddish submarginal patches on the upperside of the hindwing. Dr. Hahnel only 

 three or four times saw obidonus floating high up tlirough the branches and over the tops of the trees, and 

 did not catch any. Dr. Staubinger onlj^ received Ms first hecuba S, which probably belonged to the form 

 heracles, through the artist Otto Michael from the Rio Negro and my experienced collector Julius Mjchaelis 

 sent me about 30 or 40 examples, which he captured in July and August -with the help of a stick 4 or 5 m. 

 in length, on which an miusually large net was fastened. The $ of hecuba and hecuba obidonus is considerably 

 larger and has somewhat romider wings than the ^, with more strongly marked yellow and reddish submargi- 

 nal patches on both wings, somewhat paler black distal area on the upperside of both wings and lighter yellow- 

 brown mider surface. According to Michael (Iris 1894, p. 197) obidonus has a short season of fhght (June 

 and Juty, once observed also in December). Fresh examples apjjear after every thunder-shower, but they 

 already become less numerous on the second and third day, and the fourth one only sees a specimen here 

 and there, and afterwards only worn examples are seen; 9$ nearly always sit still where $i^ will be passing, 



cisseis. in an}' cJise they only occasional^ fly a short distance in the morning. — cisseis Fldr. (= egyptus Deyr.), 

 from the ^outh side of the Lower Amazon, is chstinguished in the ^ by dark, in the $ by lighter blue and 

 rather narrt^w bands on the forewing. On the hindwing the basal area is somewhat more extended than in he- 

 cuba and obidonus heracles, according to the sex lighter or darker blue, the blue with slight mother-of-pearl 

 gloss and the submarginal area adorned with blue-white liuiulate spots. At Itaituba on the Tapajos occur 

 more commonly light blue, more rarely dark blue, or even dark violet $$. In Ecuador and even in BoUvia 

 the colour-scheme of cisseis is retained, yet in these countries the ocj, and occasionally also the $$, sometimes 

 cisseides. assume a brownish colour. — cisseides Fruhst. The black which occupies the cell of the forewing extends some- 

 what beyond its apex, and in addition the blue spot before the apex of the cell is obsolescent, being only 

 indicated by a little dusting. Of cisseis Bates urates that the butterfhes present a magnificent spectacle 

 as they sail along by twos or threes at a great height in the still air of a tropical morning. But according 

 to Dr. Hahxel cisseis only awakes when the high-flying perseus have already long been floating over the clear- 

 ings, in the distance looking like black spots, when the sun has begiui to beat do"«Ti vnth full power on 

 the leafy dome of the forest and M. menelaus has finished its flight, cisseis then moves shghtly forward 

 on the leaf on which it passed the night, and opening the wings it sUps with a bound into the air, rising 

 lightly to the tops of the trees, among which it takes its fUght until the clearing of the road appears, which 



