242 
EUPLOEA. By H. Fruhstorfer. 
whitmei. E. whitmei Btlr., with the forewing 30 mm in length, one of the prettiest of the brown Enploeas and 
a true Oceanic butterfly in its small size. Locality: Lifu in the Loyalty Islands, to the east of New Caledonia. 
Ground-colour dark chocolate-brown with the marginal area slightly lighter, especially on the hindwing. 
Forewing with very short, but broad sexual stripe and two small subapical dots. Hindwing with a distal row 
of small, somewhat irregularly placed marginal dots and a submarginal row of 3—4 somewhat larger spots. 
Underside with a more complete double row of white dots, to which is further added a discal group of 
7 circumcellular spots and a cell-spot. Forewing likewise with a violet patch before the apex of the cell, 
rhildreni. two transcellular and two white intramedian patches. — childreni Moore, described from an example in coll. 
Oberthur from ’’Java”, is perhaps synonymous with whitmei or a local race of it from the Pacific region. All 
that is certain is that childreni does not occur on Java. 
E. guerini, hitherto only known from New Guinea and the Am Islands, was recently discovered in 
Australia also. Apparently constant on the Aru islands, on the main island of New Guinea it is one of the 
most variable species, so that no less than 10 specifle names have been given to the local race of British New 
pnnicea. Guinea, which, however, lor the most part do not represent aberrations worth naming. — punicea Gr.-Sm. 
(84 c) is the oldest name, which was given to the race from Dutch New Guinea and according to the material 
I have examined from Humboldt Bay the form from Kaiser-Wilhehnsland is identical with it. On the figure 
the delicate, plum-blue tinge and the somewhat lighter marginal area are unfortunately not brought out well. 
The under surface is cocoa-brown, occasionally with dull, light violet reflection on the distal parts. Both 
wings with light blue cell-spot and two resp. five discal dots. Forewing in the ? further with the submedian 
streak found in most Euploeids, in place of which in the cf the glossy brown sexual stripe shows through 
from above. In the form punicea the white subapical patches of the upperside are also reproduced beneath. - 
hruno. bruno 8m., under which name the New Guinea guerini in general pass in the trade, designates a slight variation, 
palilia. in which the forewing shows in addition a complete submarginal row of white spots. — palilia form. nov. 
(84 c) has no white spots on the forewing, but in their place a light violet tinge, which extends as a band 
amethysta. to the middle of the wing. — In amethysta form. nov. (82 e) both wings are adorned with a broad violet 
marginal area and the discal area of the hindwing beneath is whitish. This form sometimes also occurs in 
progressiva, combination with the spotted typical form punicea. — progressiva form, nov. (84 c) are examples with plum- 
blue upper surface, without white splashes and without violet margin, but distally more or less tinged with 
violetta. light brown. Here belong 36 out of 72 pairs, thus exactly half the examples in my collection. — violetta 
Btlr. (81 b) is the oldest name for the local race from British New Guinea, erected from examples from Port 
Moresby. According to the series of 12 pairs from Milne Bay before me the local form is very constant; all the 
examples bear much larger white subapical spots than punicea , which are either covered or bordered with 
blue or violet, more or less densely sprinkled scales. Submarginal band of the forewing nearly always 
complete. On the upperside of the hindwing there are 1 or 2 submarginal intramedian spots, pleiadis Btlr. 
ordinata. and dolosa Btlr. sink to violetta without further discussion, as based on smaller individuals. — ordinata Moore 
denticulata, is a form with a complete row of submarginal spots on the forewing. — In denticulata Moore these are strongly 
bipunctata. reduced. — bipunctata Moore refers to the 2? already mentioned with two submarginal spots on the hindwing 
astraea. above. — astraea Moore has the spots essentially widened and for stella, siderea, louisa Moore I can give no 
distinctions at all. But from Moore’s descriptions it is tolerably certain that neither the form palilia, amethysta 
nor progressiva Fruhst. has as yet been observed in British New Guinea; it is also interesting to notice that 
the pairs received by me from the eastern parts of Kaiser-Wilhelmsland all incline to the form punicea and 
consequently form a distinct transition to violetta, whilst progressiva and the violet-banded individual aberrations 
predominate especially in Aslrolabe Bay, near Friedricli-Wilhelmshafen. It is not impossible that tenebrosa Sm, 
tenebrosa- and lachrimosa Sm., which, however, its author expressly compares with netscheri, belong to guerini. — tenebrosa 
then about corresponds to progressiva and would have to stand as the name-type in place of punicea , and 
lachrymosa. lachrymosa Sm. would be the race from the island of Jobi, according to Smith without blue reflection and 
amycus. beneath somewhat paler than tenebrosa. — amycus Mi.sic., which Waterhouse cites in the Calalogue of Australian 
Lepidoptera as a separate species, is judging from the description a guerini- race, cf above dark velvety brown, 
with lighter distal margin. Apical band composed of 4 irregularly shaped, slightly clouded white spots, of 
which the upper two are the smallest. A small round white spot is placed between the median veins near 
the distal margin. Hindwing dark brown with lighter marginal area and two small white submarginal spots 
near the apex, of which the lowest is nearly obsolete. Under surface velvety brown with a violet spot before 
the end of the cell, 5—6 beyond the cell and five white larger subapical patches. Locality Cape York. - 
guerini. guerini Fldr., the first named branch-race of the species, apparently inhabits exclusively the Aru Islands; it 
has not yet been observed on Key. Habitus larger than in punicea, forewing somewhat longer and always 
with a complete row of submarginal spots, which in the 2 are continued also on the upperside of the hindwing. — 
enna subsp. nor. is before me from Salawatti; upper surface deep black, with slight dark steel-blue gloss and 
forewing with a complete row of almost uniform pure white spols, of which the upper three are wedge-shaped 
and the third is distally slightly incised. Under surface with very large, light blue cell- and ultracellular spots, 
deep black with dull blue tinge. 
enna. 
