Balacra caeruleifascia Walker, 1856

Walker, F. (1856). List of the specimens of lepidopterous insects in the
collection of the British Museum. Part VII. Lepidoptera Heterocera. British
Museum, London; pp. 1721-1722.

1. Balacra caeruleifascia.

Fem. Laete rufa; caput fusco fasciatum; palpi apice nigri; antennae nigrae;
thorax fascia antica vittisque tribus fuscis; abdomen fasciis nigro-cyaneis;
tibiae supra tarsique nigricantia; alae anticae rufo-cervinae, guttis
basalibus laete rufis maculisque sex limpidis; posticae pallide rufae.

Female. Bright red. Head with a brown band between the antennae. Palpi with
black tips. Antennae black. Thorax with a brown band in front and with three
brown stripes. Abdominal segments with blackish blue bands. Tibiae above and
tarsi blackish. Fore wings reddish fawn-colour, with three bright red marks at
the base, and with six limpid spots, one on the discal areolet, one in front
of the first superior vein, one on the discal fold beyond the areolet, one in
front of the second inferior vein, one in front of the third inferior vein,
and one between the fourth inferior vein and the submedian vein; third
inferior vein as near to the fourth as to the second; under side towards the
base and hind wings pale red. Length of the body 9 1/2 lines; of the wings 24
lines.

a. ? Presented by E. Doubleday, Esq.

Hampson, G. F. (1898). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British
Museum, vol. 1, Catalogue of the Syntomidae. British Museum, London; p. 145,
pl. V fig. 13 (as Metarctia caeruleifascia).

277. Metarctia caeruleifascia. (Plate V. fig. 13.)

Balacra caeruleifascia, Wlk. vii. 1721 (1856); Kirby, Cat. Het. p. 221.
Automolis ehrmanni, Holland, Psyche, vi. p. 535 (1893).

Female. Head scarlet; palpi, antennae, and a band between antennae brown;
thorax brown; tegulae edged with scarlet, patagia and patches on meso- and
metathorax scarlet; legs scarlet and brown; abdomen scarlet, with fuscous
bands tinged with metallic blue scales. Fore wing red-brown, with some scarlet
marks at base of costa and median nervure and some crimson at base of inner
area; small hyaline spots in upper angle of cell, below base of vein 2, and a
series of four spots beyond the cell between veins 3 and 7, the two upper
larger, some red on terminal area near tornus. Hind wing yellow, crimson
towards base; the cilia fuscous.

Both wings with veins 4, 5 from a point. Antennae minutely serrate.

Ab. 1. ehrmanni: fore wing with the hyaline spots larger, especially the spots
below base of vein 2 and between veins 5 and 6; hind wing uniform red.

Hab. Sierra Leone, 1 female type; Liberia, type female ehrmanni in Coll.
Holland. Exp. 62 millim.

Hampson, G. F. (1914). Catalogue of the Lepidoptera Phalaenae in the British
Museum, Supplement, vol. 1, Catalogue of the Amatidae and Arctiadae (Nolinae
and Lithosianae). British Museum, London; p. 78 (as Balacra caeruleifascia).

295 b. Balacra caeruleifascia, Wlk. trans. from Metarctia no. 277.

Roths. Nov. Zool. xix. pl. xiii. ff. 8, 9.

Male. Head, thorax, and abdomen scarlet; antennae brown; tarsi brownish white;
abdomen with slight dorsal segmental blackish bands with whitish dorsal points
on them. Fore wing red-brown; small scarlet spots at base on costa and inner
margin and below the cell, followed by a spot in the cell; a triangular patch
below base of vein 2 and small spots in and below end of cell; postmedial
spots above and below vein 6. Hind wing scarlet.

Seitz, A. (1926). Balacra. In: Seitz, A. (ed.), The Macrolepidoptera of the
World, vol. 14, The African Bombyces and Sphinges. Alfred Kernen, Stuttgart;
p. 55, pl. 7 d.

B. caeruleifascia Wkr. (7 d). The female is quite similar to the preceding
species, separated by black abdominal belts and by the lowest of the 4
subapical spots being proximally removed; sometimes there is below this spot
another accessory fifth very small spot. The male has 2 red cellular spots and
1 large yellow-centred submedian spot and yellow hindwings. -- In the form
ehrmanni Holl. (7 f) the female shows larger white spots, whilst in the male
the red ones are increased in number. Sierra Leone.

The preceding species, to which Seitz compares the female (p. 55):

B. preussi Aur. (= guillemei Oberth.) (7 d) differs from the preceding in the
distinctly defined white, not yellow hyaline spots, 4 or 5 of which are
combined to a subapical chain in the forewing, whilst 2 smaller ones are in
and below the cell. In the male the colouring is a brownish purple pink, in
the female the thorax and the ground-colour of the forewing are dark brown. --
brunnea Grünb. (7 c) has a yellow body and hindwing, with smaller spots in the
forewing, which, on the contrary, are larger and particularly longer in
longimacula Strd. -- In laureola Drc. the red bordering of the cellular spots
in the forewing is absent, but they are larger. West Africa. -- erubescens
Joic. & Talb., probably a separate species from the Belgian Congo, has the
forewing suffused with reddish, and only 4 postcellular spots.