MAYER: COLOR AND COLOR-PATTERNS. 199 
Scada, Mechanitis, Napeogenes, Ithomia, Aeria, Melinaea, and 
Tithorea. The Acraeoid Heliconidae will then consist of the two 
remaining genera, Ieliconius and Eueides. 
Staudinger (84—88) records 453 species belonging to the Danaoid 
group, and 150 belonging to the Acraeoid group. 
Nearly all that we know concerning the early stages of the 
Heliconidae is due to Wilhelm Miiller (’86). THe gives figures and 
more or less complete descriptions of the early stages of Dircenna 
xantho, Ceratinia eupompe, Ithomia neglecta, Thyridia themisto, 
Mechanitis lysimnia, and also of Heliconius apseudes, IH. eucrate, H. 
doris, Kueides isabella, EK. aliphera, and E, pavana. Bates (762, p. 
596) says that he raised the larvae of Heliconius erato and Eueides 
lybia. Schatz and Réber (8592) figure the larva and pupa of 
Ceratinia euryanassa, Edwards has given a detailed account of the 
early stages of TH. charitonius. 
Miller found that the larvae of the Danaoid group feed on yarious 
species of Solanum, while the genera Heliconius and Kueides feed 
upon the Passifloreae, The larvae are conspicuously colored, and 
often gregarious; they seem to take but little pains to hide them- 
selves during the chrysalis stage, for Miiller says that he -has seen 
the silver-spotted, white chrysalids of Heliconius doris hanging in 
great numbers in the near neighborhood of the larval food plant. 
The mature insects also furnish a good example of what Wallace 
(67) designated as “ warning coloration,” for their tawny orange 
and black wings are very conspicuous as they sail slowly around in 
circles, settling at frequent intervals in their lazy irregular flight. 
Bates was the first to call attention to the circumstance that they 
often possess a rather strong and disagreeable odor, and in 1878 
Fritz Miller confirmed this observation for a number of the Heli- 
conidae, He found, for example, that the genera Ituna and Ilione 
have a pair of finger-like processes near the end of the abdomen, 
which can be protruded and then emit a rather disagreeable odor ; 
and he also found that the Acraeoid Heliconidae, especially the 
females, possess a disgusting odor. Seitz (89), however, examined 
about fifty species of Heliconidae and found that many of them 
appear to have no odor, For example, he says that THeliconius 
eucrate and Kueide dianasa have no odor, but that some specimens 
of Heliconius beskei, and EKueides aliphera have a horrid odor, 
Whether they are odorous or not, it would seem that the Heli- 
conidae have but few enemies to fear, for not one of the many 
