Preface. By Dr. A. Seitz. 
13 
they are confined to the northern temperate zone in which the Ethiopian faunal region does not take part 
anymore. — As to the Nyctemerinae, the African forms are on the whole mostly very similar to the Indo-Australians. 
A particularly remarkable fact, however, is that the solitary cases of mimicry which we presumed to occur 
in the Indian Nyctemera *) also occur just as sporadically in Ethiopian Africa. 
The Lymantriidae, without counting the Noctuae and Geometridae, have the greatest number of species 
among all the families of Heterocera in the Ethiopian macrolepidopteral fauna. The small number of large forms, 
however, is very remarkable; in vain do we look in Africa for gigantic forms such as the Australian Chelepteryx 
collesi (expanse 17 cm) or the Indian Lymantria lunata and Dasychira grossa (expanse 14 cm). They are mostly 
rather small lepidoptera of a yellow, grey or white colour, exhibiting the habitus of our palearctic Euproctis- 
or Leucoma- species which, however, sometimes occur in an enormous number of specimens. 
The Lasiocampidae, on the other hand, contain quite a number of large forms in Africa. The +2 
of many Pachypasa, Gonometa, Taragama exhibit an extremely bulky structure of the body, whereas the 
Catalebeda and Philotherma have also very large wings. But particularly the larvae of such stout species attain 
an enormous size which even greatly surpasses that of the European species of Pachypasa otus and Gastropacha 
populifolia. 
In Bombycidae Africa is extremely poor. In the palearctic northern part of the continent this family 
altogether comprising hardly 70 species, is entirely absent, and the only allies, such as Endromis and Minna 
which form the transition to the Agliinae, do not occur anymore in Africa. The Brahmaeidae, however, which 
represent the Agliinae in Africa to some extent, contain 8 forms, thus more than in any other fauna. 
The Saturniidae, the total number of which presumably amounts to about 700 species, have nearly 
a third of all forms known living in the Ethiopian Region. Although it is true that the genera containing'the 
largest species, such as the Attacus and Coscinocera, are absent in Africa, yet we meet among the Antheraea, 
Philosamia, Epiphora and Actias enough gigantic lepidoptera in the Ethiopian Region. The African Bunaea 
exhibit an otherwise rare perfection of size and splendour of colours, and the Gynanisa and Henucha with their 
extremely fine and pleasant marking of the forewings together with the magnificent scheme of markings on 
the ocellated hindwings probably offer the most beautiful sight found in the lepidoptera! kingdom. -— At the 
same time there occur in Africa the smallest Saturniidae that are known, such as Ludia and Bolocera , the GG 
of which sometimes scarcely have an expanse of more than 3 cm and hang in the bushes like small shrunk 
leaves. — On the whole, the Saturniidae are the most common family of Heterocera occurring in the Ethiopian 
Region. 
Of the approximately 1000 forms known of the Sphingidae, the Ethiopian Region contains about more 
than one fifth. On surveying these 200 or more Ethiopian forms, we are met with the same constancy in the 
exterior which also characterizes the Sphingidae of the other faunal regions. We see death’s heads (Acherontia 
atropos extending to the south as far as the Cape and apparently being nowhere absent in the Ethiopian Region), 
Macroglossum, Cephonodes, vine hawk-moths ( Hippotion ), oleander hawk-moths ( Deileph. nerii), convolvulus 
hawk-moths ( Herse ) partly in the same species as we know from the palearctic or Indian regions. But the 
African Sphingidae also exhibit some peculiarities, the genera Euchloron and Basiothia being provided with 
green forewings and yellow hindwings, and the genera Lophostethus and Nephele with fenestrated forewings. 
In the former genus the Ethiopian Sphingidae also attain their largest expanse (about 14 cm); real giants as 
they occur in the American Cocytius ( cluentius with about 20 cm) are not to be found in Africa; but very few 
species (for instance some Xanthopan) have an expanse of more than 14 cm as stated above. 
As to the other groups dealt with in this volume, we have already summarized them in the 13th volume. 
Of the Psychidae, Drepanidae, and Thaumetopoeidae only 2 or 3 dozen forms each have been ascertained in 
Ethiopian Africa. 
The Eupterotidae, being absent in Europe and comprising about 1000 Ethiopian forms, are apparently 
rather closely allied to their Indian allies. The conception of this family, as we have already mentioned, varies 
a great deal with the single authors, so that a true idea of their part in the Ethiopian Heterocera can only 
be gained by studying the chapter dealing with them in the following volume. 
The occurrence of genuine Uraniidae in Africa, however, must be particularly stressed upon. It is 
only a very limited part of the Ethiopian Region, i. e. Madagascar and the South-East African continent opposite 
it, where these magnificent lepidoptera -— probably the most beautiful feature exhibited in the lepidopteral 
kingdom — are met with. The African genus ( Chrysiridia) has but 2 species (two more having been described 
besides them do not exist) the imagines and larvae of which exhibit an extremely close relationship to the 
neotropical genus Urania. — The other lepidopteral groups being placed to the Uraniidae are either not 
represented at all in Africa (Nyctalemoninae, Sematurinae) or only by a moderate number of species, such as 
the Epipleminae with about 20 and the Microniinae with somewhat fewer forms, both of which are rather 
similar to their Indian allies. 
*) Vol. II, p. 103, Nyctem. plagifera and Pieris canidia. 
