MORPHO. By H. Frtjhstorfee. 343 



and break open a roimd lid on the convex surface when the larvae hatch. This does not take place for 

 several weeks; the larva hves either singly or in small companies of 3- — 5. Larva on Platymiscium, a legu- 

 minous plant. Head proportionately very large, liigh and broad, narrowed above, at the same time rather 

 short with two strong conical processes, horizontally directed posteriorly, placed on a common base. The 

 surface of the head is covered with small pitting, and bears long, black, finely feathered, branched bristles, 

 which give it the appearance of a poodle's head, as with certain Brassolids. Larva when first hatched par- 

 tially transparent, after two days a beautiful chrome-yellow, with broad yellow dorsal and some lateral spots. 

 In the later stages the body becomes extremely variegated, browia, red-yellow, white and black with dark 

 stripes parallel to the margins of the light parts. Pupa rounded, with two short, conical horns, elongate 

 oval, transparent green. Tliis beautiful form has since 1888 passed as achillides Fldr., in consequence of 

 Staubixger-s statements in the ,,Exotischen Tagfalter". By comparison with the type, however, I have 

 been able to prove that Felder's name achillides refers to the M. achilles race from Rio Grande do Sul, which 

 BrxLER had named 31. coelestis a year before. The achillides of our plate was consequently without a name, 

 and I propose that of violaceus, as it is the only Morpho yet known with the upper surface blue-violet. 



M. patroclus Fldr. is a handsome, interesting species of the achilles group from eastern Colombia, pairoclus. 

 near to papirius Hpffr. from Peru, and apparently occurring only in the lowlands. It was met with by Fassl 

 at Yillavicencio at an elevation of 400 m., wliilst on the upper Rio Negro at about 800 m. it is already re- 

 placed by the very different il/. ac7ii7Zes hector Rob. In contrast to the round-winged achilles type •patroclus 

 has the wings elongated, the liindwing in particular posteriorly narrowed and long-produced. Base of the 

 upper surface of both wings broadly deep black, with inappreciable dark violet-blue reflection. The orna- 

 mental band strikingly broad, but nevertheless leaving a more extended black apical patch than in papirius. 

 Anal angle of the hindwing as in agamedes and phokylides with blue instead of red inner-marginal spot. Under 

 surface differing from all the achilles races and also from papirius in the very beautiful ochre-yellow bordering 

 of the ocelh, the very broad greenish white median macular band of the forewing and the extended light green 

 foreground of the ocelli on the hindwing. Under surface of the wings in both sexes a peculiar rich brownish 

 ochre or earth-colour with dull green gloss, distinctly perceptible even in Feeder's type, wliich is over 50 years 

 old and which I have before me through the kindness of the directors of the Tring Museum, and showing up so di- 

 stinctly in Fassl's example that I doubted whether it was natural. — theodorusi^r?i7isi., from the upper Uaupes, iheodorus. 

 on the other hand is again normally coloured with the band on the upper surface less brightly glossy. Both 

 wings beneath wdthout brownish green tinge, more approaching the achilles colouring with reduced greenish 

 white proximal bordering to the chain of ocelli. — papirius Hpffr. designates a well differentiated local form, almost papirius. 

 a species, from Chanchamayo in Peru, which even surpasses theodorus in the extent of the light blue orna- 

 mental band on the upper surface, so that the black distal border, particularly on the forewing, is reduced 

 to a breadth of a few millimeters, but contains a row of strongly marked, pure white submarginal dots which 

 shine out as if it were set with pearls. — The culmination in size and in brilliance of colour, however, is 

 not found until we reach the sources of the Amazon in Peru. Here the geographical variety, agamedes subsp. agamedes. 

 nov., attains in the forewing a length of 75 mm. against 55 mm. in achilles achilles L. from Surinam, and the 

 light blue ornamental band on the upper surface is 30 mm. in breadth, whilst the corresponding band in achilles 

 does not exceed 12 — 13 mm. Hence the distal black border of both wings is naturally much reduced, although 

 the basal deep black area, distally bordered with steel-blue, which is so characteristic of achilles, under- 

 goes no reduction. The brilliant median band is only somewhat widened in the cell of the forewing and en- 

 croaches even more than in papirius Hpffr. into the cell of the liindwing. Beneath also an approach to 

 M. papirius Hpffr. results from the essentially larger ocelli, which have first a light ochre-yellow, then a bronzy 

 light green bordering, which in beauty and extent is hardly excelled by that of patroclus Fldr. — phokylides phokylides. 

 Fruhst., from Yungas in BoUvia, recently taken in large numbers, forms the natural continuation of aga- 

 medes, but shows a decrease in wing-expanse. The median band becomes darker and is narrowed both towards 

 the costal margin of the forewing and the inner angle of the hindwing. The ocelli of the under surface are 

 again duU yellow and washed-out whitish, margined with blue, so causing an approach to theodorus. Valve 

 distally sharply dentate, uncus without the ventral lamellae which characterize achillaena and achillaena sub- 

 fasciata Rob. 



M. peleides occurs from Mexico southwards to Ecuador and eastwards in Venezuela. Although it 

 only inhabits a comparatively small area its local variability is unexampled among the Morpliids, and no other 

 species shows even approximately such sudden mutations within circumscribed localities (not even excepting 

 island races). The races from Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua and Colombia approximate pretty closely, but 

 between them in Guatemala and Costa Rica we find subspecies in which the usual garb is completely changed 

 (in Guatemala on the under.side also) and whose identity is only proved by the wing-contour and the position 

 of the ocelli. Of great interest also is the occurrence of two geographical races in Guatemala, of which one 

 only inhabits the Atlantic slopes of the central volcanos, the other, which is considerably rarer, exclusively 



