HELICON IA I. 
HELICONIA CHAR1TONIA. 
Heliconia Charitonia, Linn., Syst. Nat., II., p. 757. Cramer, II., pi. 191. Fab., Ent. Syst., III., p. 170. Bois. 
and Lee. p. 140, pi. 41. 
Male. —Expands from 2.5 to 4 inches. 
Upper side black, banded with lemon-yellow ; primaries have an oblique, trans¬ 
verse, narrow apical band ; a second from costa crosses the disk and ends on 
upper branch of median nervure, a little short of hind margin ; a third, starting 
from base, follows median, lying on both sides of it, makes an elbow at lower 
branch of same, and runs with this, along the anterior side, nearly to margin. 
Secondaries have a broad band from inner margin near base across cell nearly 
to outer angle, and beyond this a transverse row of yellow spots curving with 
the margin at outer angle, the anterior ones small, the others oblong or rectan¬ 
gular, individuals differing ; along the posterior half of hind margin yellow 
points, in pairs, on the interspaces ; at base two bright red spots or points, the 
lower one sometimes wanting; fringes black, yellow in the interspaces of sec¬ 
ondaries, and at inner angle of primaries; and somewhat, but irregularly, to¬ 
ward apex. The yellow bands are sometimes partly suffused or dusted with red. 
Under side brown ; costa of primaries next base bright red ; the bands repeated, 
the mesial and lower one extended to hind margin, or very nearly, and next this 
margin suffused with salmon color; individuals vary in the color of the bands; 
some have the lower one as bright as on upper side, the others paler; some 
have all three of same shade, pale yellow ; and n-ot infrequently the two upper 
ones are washed at each extremity with diluted salmon-red. 
Secondaries have the band repeated, pale yellow; at the outer end of same 
two large salmon-colored patches, almost confluent; the row of spots repeated, 
but the outer half are whitish, the rest deep yellow ; the marginal dots are en¬ 
larged to spots, and the pairs run from outer to inner angle and up inner margin; 
on this margin between the band and spots are two red spots, and two others 
at base. 
