RAPALA. By Dr. A. Seitz. 
1005 
on the sides of the dorsum, and a brown transverse belt behind the last thoracal ring; moreover, the dark marking 
varies individually. It lives on Lantana camara and Zizyphus xylopyrus and changes into a smooth, brown, 
spotted pupa shaped like a small bean, yielding the imago after 10 days. The latter flies very well, hut it is 
not timid, when it rests on bushes with its wings half open. It is very common in many places, although mostly 
only one or two are to be found on the same bush. I have not observed it on blossoms. 
R. simsoni Misk. (160 f) is very similar to the preceding species, separated by the transverse band simsoni. 
beneath being more oblicpie in the forewing, but straighter in the hindwing. Above almost black, the with 
a large scent-organ of a steel-blue reflection; beneath earth-brown with a broad, linear transverse band of the 
forewing. Queensland; Prince of Wales and Thursday Islands. Waterhouse and Lyell directly denote the 
form as the Australian but they do not state any data whatever about the habits, time of flying, rareness etc. 
R. democles Misk. is another Australian Theclina described as Rapala, which, however, presumably democle ». 
belongs much lather to Deudorix, into the group of perse. It resembles above olivia (161 a), but beneath the 
transverse band of the fore wing runs irregularly, beginning broad at the costa, from where it extends towards 
the centre of the margin, but behind the middle radial it is broken and extends from here more parallel 
to the margin. The cell-end spot is large, square with stunted angles. In the hindwing the white border of the 
arcuate band is distinct. A little larger than olivia (161 a). Only Sq are known, which were described from 
damaged specimens. Johnstone River; Prince of Wales Island. 
R. sphinx F. ( = varuna Hew. nec Hsf.) (160 e) is at once recognicable by the magnificent blue gloss sphinx. 
above being more intense and more glaring than in any other Rapala. Besides, it is one of the largest species; 
the under surface is purely nut-brown, but in the $ there is often between the arcuate bands of the hind wing 
the trace of a whitish-blue reflection. Transverse band of the hindwing very straight. Indo-China, where the 
species is said to be very common near Rangoon; the figured specimen from Mt. Gede (Java). — z anion a Fruhst. zamona. 
is the form from the Philippines, with a broad black margin of the forewing above, so that the blue lustre 
does not approach the margin so closely, particularly in the apical portion of the forewing. — melida Fruhst. rnelida. 
(160 e. as meliata), on the contrary, is more narrowdy bordered with black, the blue lustre even in the 
apex extends to the margin almost 2 mm before it, but it is of a more violet tint. Borneo. Moreover, it must 
be mentioned that also in typical sphinx-£$ the blue reflection may assume an ultramarine tint, according 
to the side from which the insect is looked at. — Larva silvery yellowish-green, laterally darker spotted, w r ith 
a dorsal line which may be of a plain darker green, but also speckled with brown. On Melastoma polyanthus 
and Elaeagnus ferruginea; the flat woodlouse-shaped larva lying closely pressed to the silvery under surface 
of the leaves is difficult to find. The imago seems to be rare except in Rangoon, where Niceville denotes 
it to be ,,very common 11 ; it flies near Bataera and Buitenzorg. rhoecus Nic. (— phoecus Piep.) (161b) rhoecus. 
seems to be only the Sumatran form of it. 
R. scintilla N ic. (160 d). This species which is described from Sikkim, but which also occurs in Assam, scintilla. 
forms the transition from the varuna- group to schistacea. At once recognizable by the blue reflection above 
having almost entirely disappeared; only above the hind-margin of the forewing and below the costal margin 
of the hindwing there are yet traces. The under surface is well reproduced in our figure, only the hindmarginal 
portion of the band on the hindwing is more composed of more distinctly separated crescentiform spots 
than the figure shoves; the slight greenish gloss of the under surface in the <$ is also more intense than on 
our figure (according to a $). 
R. schistacea Mr. (= varuna Wood-M. nec Hsf.) (146 a) is rather a small species, forewing with a schistacea. 
very dull blue gloss which, how r ever, does not leave a distinct black marginal band above, but which shows 
a brighter gloss in the fresh <$ than on our figure. Beneath easily discernible by the slightly darker, almost 
linear, very slightly bent and somewhat irregular transverse band before the marginal area. Also in the anal 
area of the hindwdng beneath the marking is rather dull. Typical specimens come from India, from where 
the species is also distributed over Ceylon and the Andamans; near Calcutta the species is common throughout 
the year. — Fruhstorfer separates the Javanese specimens as special forms: the western form: beluta, and beluta. 
the eastern form: renata ; the former is above without a blue reflection, of the latter the are above steel- renata. 
blue, beneath almost white; the $$ above red-brown, the transverse bands distinctly bordered with white. 
— The larva of schistacea is similar to that of Zinaspa todara (p. 1007), but the rings 3 and 10 show laterally 
a large fleshy appendage, and on the sides of the segments very small teeth; on ring 2 there are long 
porrect cones. On Quisqualus and Acacia caesia. Robson fed the larva with Spiraea sorbifolia. Pupa stout, 
without appendages, brown, black-spotted. 
R. alcetas Stgr. In this form from Palawan the postmeclian transverse stripe of the forewing beneath alcetas. 
is still much fainter than in schistacea (146 a) so that in not quite fresh specimens it is no more to be noticed. 
On the hindwing, where this line is yet distinct though very fine, it extends almost quite straight, unnoticeably 
bent. Also in Luzon. — ab. alcetina Smpr. (160 d) is a much smaller form which, however, seems to occur alcetina. 
everywhere beside normal specimens; they lack the blue reflection above, and beneath the ground-colour is 
lighter. — bandatara Fruhst. (160 c) has above in the almost unnoticeable traces of the blue reflection, beneath bandatara. 
