70 



ZOOLOGISCHE MEDEDEELINGEN — DEEL IV. 



VIL - STUDIES ON INDO-AUSTRALIAN LEPIDOPTERA III. SOME 

 RHOPALOCERA AND NETROCERA FROM SIMALUR, PULU LASIA, 

 PULU BABI AND SUMATRA 

 BY R. VAN EECKE. (WITH 3 TEXTFIGURES AND PLATES VII AND VIII). 



The first contribution to the knowledge of the Rhopalocera-fauna 

 of Simalur and Pulu Babi has been published in volume XXX YI of „Notes 

 from the Ley den Museum." At that time (1914) it was not probable that 

 more material, besides the 54 recorded species, would reach our country 

 in a time that can be looked over. So, I was very pleased by receiving, 

 a year ago, a few species from the islets named above through the 

 intervention of Mr. Edw. Jacobson, who himself has brought together 

 the above quoted first collection from Simalur and Pulu Babi and also 

 that from Sumatra. The second collection, principally from Pulu Lasia 

 (Lasiak), neighbouring Pulu Babi (KL. 2° 7', EkL. 96° 40'), has been 

 brought together by Mr. Gr. Harmsen, who will spare no trouble to 

 capture more representatives of this remarkable fauna, very different from 



that of Sumatra and of the islands 

 Mas, Batu, Mentawei and En- 

 gano. 



If we glance at the little map, 

 it will be clear that the fauna 

 of Simalur and its satellite-islets, 

 which are isolated by the ocean 

 from Sumatra, from the Banjak 

 islets and from Mas, must form 

 a faunistic unity. The chief cha- 

 racter of this fauna is a high degree 

 of melanismus, which is most deve- 

 loped on the islet Pulu Babi. Nearly 

 all the collected species differ from 

 the known ones, so that I have 

 the task to describe several new 

 subspecies. Doing this, my expec- 

 tation, uttered in the first publi- 

 cation on the „Fauna Simaluren- 

 sis", becomes fulfilled. 

 The material from Sumatra is also of great importance, because it 

 contains several rare species, and some as yet unknown as belonging to 

 the fauna of this island. Mr. Jacobson has captured the greater part of 



1:6.000.000. 

 Textfigure 1. 



