OCR Text |
Show 842 DR. A. G. BUTLER ON LEPIDOPTERA [Nov. 17, This pretty species varies a good deal on both surfaces; the black longitudinal streak on the primaries above is frequently divided longitudinally by an ochreous median vein, and transversely by an orange-ochreous bar just before the end of the cell; the ochreous longitudinal stripe of the secondaries is sometimes expanded so as to leave only a narrow black costal border; on the under surface there is occasionally a subapical decreasing series of five cream-coloured spots divided only by the nervures (which are dull orange), and the secondaries are cream-coloured, with orange-tawny veins and internal streak: intergrades between the extremes occur. 116. CYCLOPIDES PEREXCELLENS. (Plate XLII. fig. 2.) Cyclopides perexcellens, Butler, Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. ser. 6, vol. xviii. p. 161 (1896). Kasungu Mountain, 7425 feet alt., Nyika, March 2nd and 5th, 1896. 117. CYCLOPIDES QUADRISIGNATUS. Cyclopides quadrisignatus, Butler, P. Z. S. 1893, p. 670, pl. Ix. fig. 9. Kasungu Mountain, 6200 feet alt., March 1st; 7425 feet, March 2nd, 3rd, and 6th, Nyika. Every fresh collection brings additional evidence of the variability of this species. The example obtained on March 6th has the two obliquely-placed orange spots just beyond the middle of the primaries unusually large and confluent, two small costal spots being only separated from them by the subcostal nervure. At first sight this variety might be taken for a modification of ft midas, but it is not only too dark, both in ground-colour and spots, but the inner of tbe two costal spots (which doubtless represents the basal orange dash in ft midas) is much too far from the base to be characteristic of that species, whilst the absence of the spot in the discoidal cell of the secondaries is characteristic of ft quadrisignatus. 118. CYCLOPIDES MIDAS. Cyclopides midas, Butler, P. Z. S. 1893, p. 671; 1895, p. 265, pl. xv. fig. 6. Chuooa River (Mwewe's), Unyika, August 26th, 1895. The damaged aberrant examples recorded under this species in my paper on Mr. Scott Elliot's collection prove to be extreme forms of the preceding species : I had thought it impossible that ft quadrisignatus could vary so much, ft midas is tolerably constant. 119. GEGENES LETTERSTEDTI. Hesperia letterstedti, Wallengren, Kongl. Svensk. Vetensk.-Akad. Handl. 1857, Lep. Rhop. Caffr. p. 49. |