LEPTOSIA; I-IYLOTHR1S 213 f. nuptilla Aur . \urlvillius, 1910 in Seitz, .\lucre/c p. XIII: 31, pI. 10, b (RuwensoriJ. A peculiar form lacking the postdiscal spot ; the apical band is prescnt but is narro\ver than in the f. alcesla Stoll. Recorded from the Cameroons by Strand, and therefore not confined to the type-locality. As some specimens from Southern Africa show a consider­ able reduction of the postdiscal spot, there is a possibility of the form occurring within our limits. f. nupta (Btl.). Yrc/' itollct uUpl(t Hull r, 1873, Ci.<I. E 'l!. III: 175 (An!{ola). An extreme albinistic form in which all the dark markings of the upper::iide are absent. Described from Bembc, ?\orth-\\"estern Angola, and may be an extreme dry climatic form . No Southern African records arc apparently known. Expanse: 30-45 mm. Antenna-'u.·int; ralio: 0·4 (3), () ·39 (:;: ). Genitalia.- Male (fig. 113).- Tegul11en and unclIs broad, the lattcr not uistinctly sepa­ ratecl from the former, acute at tip; valve ear-shaped, witlt a rathcr blunt apical margin. costa concave in thc basal half, arched in the distal half, about as lon u as the base, \'entral margin conw'x in the \' cntral half, straight e1scwhere; there is a sclerotized narrow ridge arising from costa ncar the dorsal base and extending along the inner edge, but not reaching the sacculus; sacwills small and elongate; aedoeat;lIs as long as the length of the \"ah'e from the , entral base to apex, almost straight, widened and bilobate at base, \vithont basal prong; jllxta almost entirely membranous, with a narrow median sclero­ tiz d bar; saccus half the length of aedoeaglls, widened and laterally compressed ant riorly, with a rounued tip. Female (fig. l14).- Anallobes short, slightly projecting at middle, their supporting ) scIerites longer than the lobes, posterior apophyses as long as the scIerites, very slender; 1 1 0 'uestiblllllJn much broader than long, without anterior pocket, anterior apophyses small 2 and slender, auriCIIlae divided into larger, subtriangular, posteriorly emarginate, incun'ed d e t posterior lobes, and smaller triangular anterior lobes, placed at the edge of the ostiuJIl, a d the latter \'ery broad, unarmed; dllctlls membranous. narrow, reaching to the anterior ( r edge of the seventh sternite; bursa small, spherical; signum trapezoidal, almost crown­ e h s 'haped, wider in its free (anterior) portion, the latter spinose, the largest spines being i l b along the edge. Divertiwlum small, with a short and narrow connecting duct. u P LIFE-HISTORY: unknown. e h DISTRIBUTIO:>! IN SO THERN AFH1CA: The species is apparently confined to the t y warm, wooded districts of Natal, Northern Transvaal, Portuguese East Africa and b Southern Rhodesia. The material available to me is insufficient to give a detailed account d e t of the distribution. n a SPECIl\IE~S EXAMINED: series of both sexes from the following localities: Transvaal: r g Louwscreek, Barberton district (March); Malelane (February). Natal: Durban (March, e c n :vIay, August); Congella (July); Lebombo Mountains (December); Portuguese East e c i Africa: Louren<;o Marques (without date). l r e d Genus MYLOTHRIS Hb. n u I'Hibner, lR19. Vaz. Bek. ScJl1ll!JI.: ~o. T\"pe: Papilio poppca Cramer, 1777 (designated b y Butler. IR70). y a w Characters (fig. 115) : A ntellllae only a little less than half the costa of forewing, e t with a rather short, broad, flattened club; palpi long, hairy, projecting well beyond a G frons, first joint long, slightly curved near base. second about two-thirds the length of t e the first and in line with it, third joint longer than second, narrow and acute, slightly n i b a 15 S y b d e c u d o r p e R 214 nlYLOTHRIS / c ) 1 1 0 2 d e t a d ( r e h s i l b u P e h t y b d e t n a r g e c n e c i l r e d n u y a ) w e t a 115. MvlotJlI'is CM01is (F.), f. II /I<II/lilla Cr" II, palp">;, iJ , t('rminal part of antenna, c, wing-ve natio.n. lIS. G M. ),111,,; Bt l. , male genita lia. 117. It , id., female gt~ llitalia, b, si"llu m. 111\ , -'·1. bernice rLl/Jricosla (!vIab.), male. t e 119. id., female. l:!O . .1/. poppw f. hadll1s (Trim.). male. (.111 jig H YI' (if ge l/i!alia a,rt' cn{aygcd 15 limes .) n i b a S y b d e c u d o r p e R MYLOTHRIS 215 drooping. Forewing triangular, with the outer margin slightly com'ex and oblique, apex subacute; Rl and R2 arise from cdl rather close to each other and to upper angle; R3 completely fused with RHo in all Southern African "pecie:;, :\1 1 on a fairly long stalk with R H u5 ; LDC much longer than MDC. Hl;l1d w'illg: precostal spur moderately strong, curved distad from about middle; LDC longer than i\lDC. Legs slender. but strong, tarsi with paronychia and pulvilli present. &enitalia.- J.J ale: tegll1Jlf11. broacl basally, narrowed distally, articulatory procc 'ses very large, 1I1ICUS beak-shaped, laterally compressed; vale'e vcry broad and rounded, costa strongly arched, apcx in most species shortly acute and placed usually near the middle of the distal edge; in [rilllenia and sagala the valve is evenly rounded, \yithout any apical projection; a sclL'rotized l()be or harpe is present, arising ncar costa, with the ventral edge free, and a peculiar internal sac, communicating with the exterior by an opening near the harpe, and lying within the cavity of the valve; aedoeagus large, strongly arched, with a small basal prong; juxta well-developed, shield-like ; saccus stout, shorter than tegumen. Female.-Anallobes broad, rounded; posterior and anterior apophyses well-denlvped, auriculae large, divided into narrower posterior and broader anterior lobes; bursa large, with a rather sm~Lll symmetrical signum, the latter more or less broadly kidney-shaped, consisting of two contiguou" sclerotized concavities, spinose all around the edges and over the surface except near the median suture. Early stages: Eggs elongate barrel-shaped, with numerous longitudinal carinae connected by transverse ridges, and are laid in clusters. Larvae elongate-cylindrical, sparsely setose in the first instar, some of the primary setae being forked at tip, pubescent in later stages, the hairs being longer than in most other genera. They are gregarious, and cluster together between meals, and when moving, follow each other in procession. Pupae with a long upcurved cephalic projection, a mid-dorsal series of irregular tubercles ) 1 along thorax anu abdomen, and seyeral pairs of lateral claw-like processes on the first 1 0 few abdominal segments. 2 d Fo()d-plants : species of Loran/hilS (Loranthaceae) and Osyris (Santalaceae). e t General remarks and distribut-iol1 : The genus is exclusively African and its distribution a d area includes the islands of :\Jadagascar, Comoro, Socotra, Fernando Po, Sao Thome ( r e and Konakry. h s In a recent" preliminary revision" of the genus (Talbot, 1944, Trans. R. ent. Soc. i l b Lond. 94: 155-185, pI. 1). the number of hitherto recognised species of Mylothris have u P been reduced from 43 to 23, consequent upon the study of the male genitalia of many e h forms. The treatment by Talbot of many forms as subspecies, however, does not appear t y to be ju"tified, because while some Jlylothris are mountain forest species, the habitats b d of which are sometimes discontinuous, this is certainly not so for other species (for e t insianet: M. chloris and :.11. poppea, both of which are represented in Southern Africa n a r by forms). Stoneham (Bull. Stoneham :\Ius. );: 21, 1934) includes chloris, agatlzina. g e riippelhi and yltlei in his list of migrating butterflies. The illustrations of the genitalia c n (valves onl~') given by Talbot do not suggest any constant structural differences between e c i l subspecies, anu in some ca:;es (as in JI. rhodope) show a remarkable degree of variability r e within the samt' " subspecies" in the same area. \\,hile agreeing with Talbot in his new d n delimitations of species, 1 am inclined to doubt the subspecific value of regional forms u of those' specie,; whose distribution is continuous, or where two or more so-called" sub­ y a species" occur together. Such is the case of .11. chloris F., where all three" subspecies" w e t chloris r., clarisstl Btl. and agalhilltl Cr. occur together in ::\orthern Cgancla. If we treat a G all these variants a,; forms, we thereby' avoid such complicated denominations as Jlylothris t e chloris clarissa f. agath£na Cr., or Jlylothris chloris agathina f. chloris F., which simply n i b a S y b d e c u d o r p e R 216 lvIYLOTHR1S become Mylotlnis chloris f. agathina Cr., and M. chloris f. chloris F., irrespective of the localities they come from. To ascribe to such varietal forms subspecific value implies the assumption of a genotypical difference, the existence of which has not been proved, and which is doubtful in view of the co-existence of such forms in the same localities. The variation within the specific limits is clearly of a climatic type (heavier black markings in moister areas and vice versa). ~Ir. Talbot's arrangement into groups must be regarded as incorrect owing to an unfortunate confusion of the genitalia of two very important species.