Publ 27. VI. 1924. 
ZERITIS. By Dr. C. Aubivillius. 
417 
black spot at the end of the discal cell' L (in the figure the forewing above is blackish with a triangular, greenish- 
blue anal-marginal spot covering the base of the areas 1 a to 3, but not penetrating into the cell). ,,Hindwing 
lustrous green with a broad smoke-brown costal margin and light bronze-brown proximal margin; anal lobe 
golden orange, on each side spotted black and silvery white. Body above blackish-blue; head whitish; palpi 
white; antennae and abdomen with white ringlets; antennal club with an orange apex. Wings beneath light 
loamy yellow, everywhere decorated with black spots pupilled silvery white; forewing at the anal margin 
whitish; a silvery spot near the base of the costal margin, about 6 such spots in the discal cell, an irregular 
transverse row of such spots behind the cell and two more such transverse rows before the margin; fringes 
white; hindwing with 4 or 5 basal dots, a transverse row of 4 spots with fine black streaks in the first third 
and a discal transverse row of silvery spots being mixed with 6 black dots; the submarginal rows as on 
the forewing. Anal lobe as above; body beneath white. Expanse of wings: 21 to 22 mm.“ Butler in a later 
work mentions as its particular difference from tamaniba its smaller size. But as it is a well-known fact 
that in such countries as the Somaliland the size depends on the athmospheric condition during the development, 
this difference alone seems to me not to be decisive, and I consider esmeralda to be probably only a small form 
of tamaniba. Somaliland. 
Ch. pseudozeritis Trirji. (70 a) was discovered in Eastern Cape Colony in the Bathurst District by 
Miss Fanny Bowkee and was denominated owing to the marking beneath being very similar to that of Phasis 
( „Zeritis“ Trim.). In the the wings above are blackish-brown and blue; on the forewing the blue colour 
forms an anal-marginal spot covering the base of the areas 1 a and 1 b, only slightly traversing the middle 
of the anal margin and the veiir 2 and scarcely penetrating into the cell. Hindwing above bright blue, at the 
costal margin broad black (as far as vein 6), at the proximal and distal margins narrow black; at the 
anal angle with an orange spot enclosing two black marginal dots, and being proximally decorated with some 
bronze-coloured scales. Under surface dull, light greyish-yellow, with dark, angular spots with metallic pupils. 
Fringes of the wings uni-coloured whitish. $ above brown. Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal. — azurea Btlr. 
seems to deviate by the blue anal-marginal spot on the $ forewing above extending almost to the margin 
without passing into the area 2 and the cell. The $ differs from the A by the absence of the blue colour 
above; the wings are therefore above uni-coloured dark coppery-brown with an orange anal spot of the hindwing 
British East Africa. 
15. Genus: Zeritis (Bsd.) Auriv. 
The name Zeritis was at first applied by the well-known French lepidopterologist Boisduval in 1836 
in the first volume of his ,,Species Generates des Lepidopteres“. He did not, however, supply a description 
of the genus, but figured a species ( neriene ) as the typical one and also added a figure of the veins. This figure 
could therefore, if we are not too strict, be regarded as the characterization of the genus. Unfortunately, however, 
the design of their veins is wrong and does not fit the genus. And besides also the figure of neriene is not 
correct, as the two small tails of the hindwing by which the genus is distinguished are absent altogether. The 
figure was probably done according to a damaged specimen. The marks communicated by Boisduval are 
thus not conclusive for this genus. Whether Boisduval is nevertheless to be regarded as the author of the 
genus others may decide. But in order to avoid unnecessary changes of names I have used Boisduval's name. 
Antennal club very long, longer than half the shaft, not very distinctly defined. Palpi short; the last 
joint porrect, cylindrical, almost bare. Eyes bare. Veins of forewing: 10. Hindwing with two ecpially long, 
small tails as thin as a hair, one of which rises at the end of vein 1 b, the other at the end of vein 2. Veins 
6 and 7 of forewing at their base more or less united. The wings are beneath very variegated with transverse 
rows of cpiadrangular, yellow spots. 
The genus entirely corresponds with Axiocerses in the structure of the veins, but it differs from it and 
from the other allied genera by the two small tails of the hindwing. 
Only three species all of which are rare and little known were hitherto described. The sexual differences 
are unknown to me. 
Review of the Species. 
A. Wings above and beneath with black submarginal dots or small streaks in the areas 1 to 6. Wings above 
orange with black markings or at least in the marginal half with large, reddish-yellow, more or less contiguous 
spots and with a reddish-yellow marginal band. 
*. Both wings beneath with distinct, mostly quadrangular spots bordered with black. 
a. Both wings obove at the base broad blackish-brown with or without small reddish-yellow spots 
or dots. Z. neriene. 
pseudozeri¬ 
tis. 
azurea. 
XIII 
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