214 
DANAIDA. By H. Fruhstorfer. 
meganira. the marginal dots and especially the small costal and subapical wedge-spots essentially longer. — mega- 
nira Godt., one of the commonest butterflies of the Southern Moluccas, differs from the preceding races 
in the more rounded shape of the wings, which is particularly noticeable in the $$, and the rounded in¬ 
stead of rectangular or oblong postdiscal patches of the forewing, which in the corresponding races from 
the other Moluccas decrease or increase in size according to the greater or less extent of the black mar- 
buruensis. ginal area. —• buruensis Holl., from Buru, is somewhat inferior in size to meganira and has the vitreous 
interneural areas just a little smaller and somewhat duller whitish than in examples from Amboina and 
sobrina. Ceram. — sobrina Bdv., whose locality its author erroneously gave as Buru, from whence he had himself 
already recorded meganira, is the race from the Northern Moluccas, a fact which Mons. Charles Oberthur 
has confirmed by comparison of the type, curtisi Moore (1883) is synonymous with sobrina. The 
white patches of the forewing rounded, the cell-streak thread-like, the two stripes at the submedian more 
elongated but narrower than in eugenia (77 a). Hindwing with distinct black fork in the cell, which in 
ellida. meganira is only indicated. Halmaheira, Batjan, Ternate, everywhere very common. — ellida Fruhst. is 
geographically and morphologically an intermediate form between meganira from the Southern Moluccas 
and sobrina; it has pure white instead of greenish grey submarginal patches and the intramedian areas 
are only slightly more reduced than in meganira. The hindwing with its rudimentary cell-stripes and the 
almost white subbasal streaks agrees much more with meganira than with sobrina, which has the bands 
ogylla. similar to those of eugenia. Obi, not rare. —• ogylla subsp. nov. is a highly specialized race from the Aru 
Islands, which in colouring is about intermediate between meganira and metaxa (77 a), but bears only a 
very narrow cell-streak on the forewing and vestigial cell-stripe on the hindwing. Otherwise as in meganira, 
except that the wings are more rounded and the patches on the forewing greenish. Apparently rare. — 
turneri. turneri Btlr. forms a transition from sobrina to eugenia. All the vitreous patches greenish as in eugenia; 
but the cell-streak of the forewing thread-like, in the $ completely absent and never joined to the spots 
before the apex of the cell. Dutch New Guinea, especially at Dorey and the foot of the Arfak Moun- 
eugenia. tains. —- In German New Guinea turneri is replaced by eugenia Fruhst. (77 a), a form which is not rare in 
the woods at the coast of Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen, and flies according to Hagen from December to 
March. The larva occurs singly on a climbing plant of the Convolvulus tribe, on which the $ lays the 
greenish eggs singly at the tip of the underside of the leaves. Both sexes lighter and larger than turneri, 
larger and somewhat darker than georgina. $: the greenish white, almost quadrate, costally somewhat 
incised spot before the apex of the cell of the forewing merged in the long stripe which runs out from 
the base of the cell. Cell of the hindwing with a thin brown-black fork, which in turneri fills up almost 
the entire cell, but in georgina is completely absent. All the circumcellular spots of both wings con¬ 
siderably larger than in turneri and georgina. The 3 stiigae below the costal margin, which are placed 
close above the apex of the cell of the forewing, are nevertheless nairower and more isolated than in 
georgina. The submarginal area of the hindwing much more prominently dotted with white than in geor¬ 
gina, but only a little more distinctly than in turneri. eugenia is further intermediate between tana is Fruhst. 
from Mefor, from which it differs in the more broadly black submedian veins and the confluent cell-spots 
metaxa. of the forewing, and purpurata from Waigeu. — metaxa subsp. nov. (77 a) affords one of the clearest 
examples of how species alter in the Tropics even at short distances. The greenish white areas of both 
wings are widened, the longitudinal streak at the submedian of the forewing and the fork-marking of the 
hindwing are either entirely absent or only vestigial. Properly speaking only the submarginal dots of the 
hindwing remain unchanged, being quite as complete, especially in the §, as in eugenia -$ (78 a). One may 
describe eugenia as having the $ predominantly black-brown with whitish patches, whilst metaxa is a 
form with greenish white ground-colour and black margins to the wings. euge7iia approaches sobrinoides Btlr. 
from the Bismarck Archipelago, whilst metaxa forms a transition to georgina from British New Guinea. 
metaxa is common at Stefansort and Finschhafen, principally in the rainy season, from September onwards. 
georgina. Valve of metaxa and eugenia not distinguishable with a low-power lens from that of juventa. —- georgina 
Fruhst. approaches metaxa, from which it differs in the shorter, more rounded subapical strigae and 
the rounder, smaller apical spot in the cell of the forewing, which is not confluent with the basal 
streak. Also the greenish white areas at both sides of the submedian are shorter, the submarginal dots 
of the hindwing are absent or reduced, in general also the black-brown marginal area of both wings more 
extended. Collingwood Bay, Milne Bay and Papua Gulf in British New Guinea. The occurrence of three 
separate Danaid-forms confirms the fact which has been long known of birds, but with regard to Lepi- 
doptera was first shown b} r me in 1905 (W. Ent. Zeit. p. 57), that the mainland of New Guinea produces 
well differentiated local races of a collective species. The range of these forms is to some extent acciden¬ 
tally identical with the present political divisions of New Guinea, so that the Dutch and the German 
as well as the British district each has its own endemic forms. The varieties inhabiting Dutch and German 
NeAV Guinea, however, are often not so sharply differentiated as those of the German and British terri¬ 
tories. This fact is easily explained by the common coast-line of the two first-named and the absence of 
any separating mountains, whilst between German and the southerly British New Guinea the Bismarck 
and Finisterre Mountains and the Owen Stanley Kange form a lofty barrier, impassable to many species. 
