io8 



H. STEMPFFER 



secondary sexual characters : on underside of fore wing there is a tuft of long hairs on the 

 inner margin on a level with the lobe ; on the upper side of the hind wing there is a matt 

 glandular patch below vein 8 and covering the origins of veins 6 and 7. 



Wing venation (Text-fig. 282). Fore wing with 11 veins ; 10 and 11 free, from the upper 

 edge of the cell. 



Male genitalia (Text-fig. 99). Uncus composed of two lobes separated by the rounded 

 depression of the posterior margin of the tegumen ; subunci long, robust, bent at an acute 

 angle, suddenly narrowed in the apical quarter of their length, and on the lower edge, level 

 with the bend, there is a small pointed apophysis ; tegumen large, hood-shaped ; vinculum 

 rather narrow with a small round saccus ; no lower fultura ; valves small compared with the 

 other parts, their proximal halves broadly fused together along their lower margins, the distal 

 third consisting of two finger-like processes which are slightly recurved, their upper edges 

 connected on the inner side by a membrane ; penis elongate, subcylindrical, slightly dilated at 

 the apex ; vesica bearing a series of cornuti ; uncus and distal portions of the valves pilose. 



I have been able to examine the male genitalia of nearly all the African species of 

 Virachola. Except in some details, they are of the same type as those of V. perse, 

 described above. The subunci carry a small apophysis in caliginosa, odana, galathea, 

 dinomenes, dinochares, lorisona, diodes, dariaves, wardii and batikeli. The subunci 

 of the other species lack this apophysis. The valves are short, blade-shaped and 

 fused together for almost their entire length in livia, suk, ecaudata, caliginosa, 

 vansoni, penningtoni and antalus. In the other species they taper more and their 

 general shape recalls the valves of the preceding genera. 



The early stages of several species of Virachola have been described, see Aurivillius, 

 1921 : 375 ; Murray, 1935 : 61-3 ; Farquharson, 1921, Trans, ent. Soc. Lond. 

 1921 : 377-8 ; Jackson, 1937, Trans. R. ent. Soc. Lond. 86 : 211 ; Pinhey, 1949 : 

 98-99. As a general rule the caterpillars of species of Virachola live in the pods of 

 Mimosaceae and Papilionaceae ; the caterpillar of V. antalus seems polyphagous as 

 it has been found on Crotalaria capensis, Canavalia ensiformis and Acacia stenocarpa. 

 The caterpillar of V. jacksoni on the other hand feeds on the young leaves of Loran- 

 thus usuiensis and that of V. dinochares on the fruits of Syzygium cordatum. 



At this point it is opportune to examine the group of Ethiopian genera erected by 

 the subdivision of the genus Deudorix. To me it does not seem that their charac- 

 teristics taken as a whole allow a clear-cut separation. 



Eyes, palpi and antennae are closely alike in all the genera. In wing shape, the 

 fore wing of the male is triangular with a straight costa, apex pointed, outer margin 

 almost straight in Pilodeudorix and Virachola (although in V. odana, V. diodes and 



Fig. 99. Virachola perse (Hewitson), 5* genitalia. 



