FABIUS HIPPONA.PLATE XIX. Fig. 2.

PLATE 19.1. Marius Thetis.2. Fabius Hippona.Guiana.Lizars sc.

PLATE 19.

1. Marius Thetis.2. Fabius Hippona.Guiana.

Lizars sc.

The following description of the caterpillar and chrysalis is given by Stoll:—“The head of this beautifully coloured caterpillar is dull yellow, with two short rays and small spots of black. The head is furnished with two long black spines garnished with short stiff hairs. The first five segments of the body are reddish-brown, spotted with black. The belly is white, and the anterior legs black. The rest of the body is reddish-brown; but from the sixth to the eleventh segment, the back is of a beautiful yellow, and bordered on the sides with short black and white rays. The back is armed with four long spines, the last of which, placed on the eleventh segment, is curved backwards, and very similar to the horns with which most of the caterpillars of the Sphinges are provided. The intermediate and posterior legs are yellow. It feeds on the leaves of the Cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale),and transforms into a perpendicular chrysalis of a yellow colour, spotted with black, garnished with black spines on the head, thorax, and back. When the butterfly is about to appear, the yellow colour changes into white.35”

Pap. Hippona,Fabr.,Donovan, Insects of India.—Pap. Fabius,Drury’s Ins.iii. Pl. 16, fig. 1, 2;Cramer, Pl. 90, fig. C, D;Stoll’s Supp.(caterpillar and chrysalis.)

This species presents another remarkable form, bearing some analogy to the preceding, but at once distinguished by having only one tail. The hinder margin of the superior wings is dilated, in the middle, into an acute angle; the same margin of the hinder pair is cut in a square form towards the anal angle, and is furnished with an oblique lengthened tail rounded at the extremity. The caterpillar tapers lightly towards the hinder extremity, and has two short obtuse horns on the hinder part of the head. The chrysalis is very short and thick, and without any angular projections.

The butterfly expands from three to three and a half inches, and is coloured somewhat in the manner of certain kinds of Heliconia. The upper wings are black above with two broad bands, that next the base tawny-red, the exterior one yellow, sinuated and oblique, extending from the costa to the projecting angle on the hinder margin of the wing; near the apex are likewise two or three yellow spots. Posterior wings black, with a tawny-red stripe alongthe anterior border, and a few white linear marks running transversely along the hinder margin between the tail and anal angle. Beneath, the surface is rust-brown, with pale clouds and transverse bands on the upper wings, and violet reflections on the under pair. Body ferruginous above and brown beneath.

The caterpillar is accurately figured by Stoll, in his valuable Supplement to Cramer’s work. It is of a dull green, with a brown or nearly black ray on the back, and spots and short stripes of the same colour on the sides. The head is black, with green rays; on the upper part are two, and on each side of the anterior part of the first segment, three small rounded yellow spots. It feeds on the leaves of a species of Piperis, but only during the night, concealing itself in the day by rolling a portion of the leaf round its body, in order to protect it from the sun. The chrysalis is greyish, tinged with flesh-colour, and marked with small brown spots.

The insect occurs in Guiana, Brazil, &c.

PLATE 20.1. 2. Catagramma Condomanus.3. 4. ————— Pyramus.Brazil.Lizars sc.

PLATE 20.

1. 2. Catagramma Condomanus.3. 4. ————— Pyramus.Brazil.

Lizars sc.

Pap. Astarte,Cramer, Pl. 256, fig. C, D—Nymph. Condomanus,Godart.—Catagramma Condomanus,Boisd.

This genus includes a pretty group ofNymphalidæ, which are mostly of small size, and marked with annular lines of bright colours on the under side of the inferior wings. They are pretty closely allied toHipparchia, but are natives of the new world. The wings are ample, and all of them rounded on the posterior edges. In the species referred to, the colour of the surface is black, glossed with violet, the upper wings with two wide transverse red bands, one near the base, the other beyond the middle; on the under wings the interior band is continued nearly to the hinder margin. The under side of the superior wings resembles the surface, but the costa is yellow at the base, and a narrow blue line runs along the outer margin. The under wings are black beneath, having a large oval yellow ring on the disk, enclosing three pale blue points and a short yellow streak: behind this ring there is a curved row of blue dots, succeeded by a yellow line running parallel with the hinder border, and not far from it: at the base ofthe wing there is likewise a yellow streak, and the sinuosities on the hinder edge are white.

The individual figured differs slightly from most other examples, in as much as it has two small white spots on the surface of the hinder wings near the anal angle.

This species inhabits Brazil and Surinam.

Pap. Pyramus,Drury’s Insects, iii. Pl. 23, fig. 3, 4, (Male);Stoll’s Supp.Pl. 32, fig. 3, and 3 C.

This prettily coloured butterfly measures about an inch and three-quarters between the tips of the wings. The surface is black, finely tinged with violet, with a broad central common band of bright red, not extending either to the costa or hinder extremity. The under side of the upper wings nearly corresponds to the surface, but they are grey at the base and tip, and near the latter there is an undulating blue line: the under wings dark brown sprinkled with grey, with two whitish spots towards the base, without any vestige of a red band, a curved row of ocellated spots behind the middle, and a waved blue line near the extremity.

The female is black on the surface without any violet reflection, and the red band, which is narrower than in the male, does not extend to the secondary wings. This insect is a native of Brazil. We have placed it in the genusCatagramma, without knowing what limits are assigned to the group so called by the continental entomologists, as the name only has yet been published. Perhaps it rather belongs to the division namedHipparchia.

The butterflies arranged together under the above name are, in many respects, the most remarkable of any to which our attention has yet been directed. In size they are superior to all the other diurnal lepidopterous tribes, except theOrnithoptera, and many of them rival even that conspicuous group in their dimensions. Although surpassed by many others of their tribe in elegance of form and harmonious blending of colours, they afford examples of as rich tints as are to be found in any other natural objects. The blue which adorns the whole surface ofM. MenelausandAdonis, has a beauty and lustre which it is impossible to witness without admiration. When flying under the blaze of a tropical sun, the brilliancy of the surface, as contrasted with the dark hue of the under side, as they are alternately displayed, must render them very striking objects. Most of them are from South America, but a few occur in the eastern parts of India and the great islands of the adjacent Archipelago.

The generic characters are more determinate than is the case with many others of this order. The antennæ are slender, linear throughout their whole length, or thickening so insensibly towards the extremityas to deviate but slightly from that shape. The palpi are placed close together, ascending, and clothed with scales, the terminal portion narrow and very much compressed: abdominal margin of the inferior wings curved downwards, and forming a deep groove for receiving the body. Discoidal cell of the posterior wings open behind; claws bifid. The caterpillars vary in form, as well as the chrysalides, and may probably, if more fully known, enable us to subdivide this family into more natural groups.

Godart.—Pap. Helenor,Cramer, Pl. 86, fig. A, B;Herbst. Pap.Pl. 26, fig. 1, 2;Esper. Papillon’s Exotiques, Pl. 42, fig. 2.

This affords an example of that section of the genus in which the upper wings are more or less concave on the outer margin, and the inferior pair without any prolongation behind. They are almost exclusively South American.M. Helenorexpands from four to five inches; surface black, with a broad band of silvery blue or violet blue, extending from the middle of the anterior margin to the anal extremity; sometimes rather narrow and well defined on the inner edge, at other times enlarged to within a short distance of the base of the wings; at the anterior extremity of this band, on the costa, there is an oblique white patch, and beyond it, on the upper wings, a single row of small white spots in the male, and two in the female. The secondary wings have an indistinct row of red crescents near the hinder margin, and the sinuosities in all the wings are white. The colour beneath is dark brown, the upper wings with three large ocelli having a white pupil surrounded with ferruginous and violet, the iris yellow,enclosed in a green circle which has a crescent of the same colour on the inner side; under wings with four similar ocelli, three of them contiguous, the interior one insulated. Towards the base of both wings are several transverse flexuose green stripes, and along the outer edge three greyish lines, more or less interrupted with red, especially in the hinder wings. The body is black above and brown beneath.

The insect occurs in Guiana, Brazil, &c.

PLATE 21.Lizars sc.Morpho HelenarFrom S. America.

PLATE 21.

Lizars sc.

Morpho HelenarFrom S. America.

In the variety figured there are a few yellow streaks on the under side of the anterior wings, and a red stripe at the base of each wing; at the same time the three posterior ocelli are prolonged into a point, and a spurious ocellus is observable adjoining the anterior one.

Found not unfrequently in many countries of South America.

Godart.—Pap. Adonis,Cramer, Pl. 61. fig. A, B;Herbst. Pap.Pl. 26, fig. 3, 4;Esper. Pap. Exotiques, Pl. 55, fig. 2.

As a specimen of that division of Morpho which has the upper wings scarcely or not at all concave on their outer edge, and the anal angle of the under pair prolonged into an obtuse rudimentary tail, we have represented a species of great beauty although inferior in size to many of its congeners, the expansion of the wings seldom exceeding three inches and a half. The surface of the male, when seen in certain directions, is of the most brilliant azure-blue, the whole of the exterior margin of the primary wings surrounded with black, and near the apex are two small white spots, the anterior one longitudinal, the other orbicular. In the female the blue colour has not such a high degree of lustre; the posterior margin is widely black, and bears two rows of white spots in the upper wings and one row in the under. On the under side the colour is greyish-brown, with several common oblique bands of a paler hue, and three or four oblong ocelli with a whitepupil and a black iris surrounded by a yellow ring; the anal angle marked with short undulating black lines. Body brownish-black above, concolorous with the same face of the wings beneath.

PLATE 22.Lizars sc.1. Morpha Adonis. 2. Pavonia TeucerBrazil.

PLATE 22.

Lizars sc.

1. Morpha Adonis. 2. Pavonia Teucer

Brazil.

Found in various parts of South America, but apparently most plentiful in Brazil and Guiana.

The group composing this genus was separated from the preceding by Godart, chiefly on account of the discoidal cell in the secondary wings being closed. Besides this character the palpi are not so densely clothed with scales, and the inferior nervure of the upper wings is curved near its origin in the form of the letter S. The species very closely resemble theMorphosin most other respects, but their colours are generally less brilliant. They are all from South America, and in that country they are far most abundant in Brazil. The caterpillars of several different kinds have been represented by Madam Merian, and, like those ofMorpho, they differ from each other in their appearance and properties.

Pap. Teucer,Linn.—Merian, Surinam Ins.Pl. 23;Cramer, Pl. 51, fig. A, B.

Extent of the wings from five to six inches; the surface of the primary pair of a livid hue at the base and dark brown at the extremity, the latter colour traversed by a yellow flexuose line near the middle of the secondary wings, slate-blue anteriorly, and black behind. On the under side the wings are very richly mottled, the ground colour being light brown, variegated with numerous undulating black lines, the anterior pair with five very irregular yellowish-white transverse bands, and four ocellated spots near the apex, the hinder one larger than the others, surrounded by a yellow ring and having a white point within, not in the centre, but inclining to the inner side: the secondary pair with three broad indistinct whitish bands, and near the middle three ocelli, the intermediate one minute, the hinder very large and surmounted by a black arch. The body is dark brown above.

This insect inhabits an extensive tract of the warmer parts of South America.

Pap. Chorinæus,Fabr.—Pap. Arcesilaus,Cramer, Pl. 294, fig. A, B (male), fig. C, D (fem.);Stoll’s Supp.Pl. 6, fig. 1 (caterpillar), fig. 1, A (chrysalis)—Satyrus Chorinæus,Godart.

Finding it impossible to include this insect, owing to its remarkable form, in any of the genera hitherto proposed, we have been under the necessity of assigning it a new name. Many of its characters seem to be quite peculiar both in the perfect and preparatory states. The species which makes the nearest approach to it isSatyrus Philoctetes, but the differences are considerable, as will be seen by comparing the adjoining figure with that insect. The costal line of the upper wings is very much arched, and the hinder margin is strongly falcate. The external edge of the under wings is likewise falcate posteriorly, and the anal angle is a little produced; the line from that point runs somewhat obliquely nearly to the middle of the hinder edge of the wing, where there is a broad obtuse obliquetail. This outline forms a broad, somewhat square figure, having perhaps rather a heavy appearance, but the curves are graceful. The caterpillar is naked, or covered only with short pubescence, thickest in the middle, and having two very long hairy appendages at the hinder extremity. The chrysalis is short, without any conspicuous projections, the abdominal portion very much incurved.

PLATE 23.Lizars sc.Arpidea Chorinæa,with Caterpiller & Crysalis.Surinam.

PLATE 23.

Lizars sc.

Arpidea Chorinæa,with Caterpiller & Crysalis.Surinam.

The colour of the surface in the above species is deep brown, darkest on the upper wings, which have a wide fulvous sinuated band, rather beyond the middle, commencing at the costa and reaching nearly to the opposite side, where it terminates in a point: the costa is likewise yellowish, and towards the apex there is a round white spot. Posterior wings of a lighter hue round the margin than on the disk, and near the hinder extremity an indistinct row of whitish points. On the under side all the wings are light brown and ash colour, covered with short waved lines of dark brown, and bearing several continuous transverse bands of the same colour, and towards the hinder margin of the inferior pair a row of pale rounded spots. Body brown; prothorax with a fulvous mark.

The caterpillar is very beautifully coloured. The body is reddish, inclining to violet, the sides of the belly and the legs dull yellow. Along the back there is a broad yellow band formed of confluent lozenge-shaped spots, each of them having a dusky line in the centre: head ferruginous, bordered and rayed with yellow. The anal fork is grey, withblack ciliæ. This caterpillar feeds on the leaves of the sugar-cane, and changes into a pale brown chrysalis dotted with black, from which the butterfly emerges in about eleven days. The insect is a native of Surinam.

PLATE 24.Lizars sc.1. 2. Helicopis Gnidus.3. Erycina Octavius.Surinam.

PLATE 24.

Lizars sc.

1. 2. Helicopis Gnidus.3. Erycina Octavius.Surinam.

Hesperia Gnidus,Fabr.—Pap. Endymion,Cramer, Pl. 224, C, D, (Male,) E, F, (Fem).—Erycina Gnidus,Godart;Stoll’s Supp.Pl. 4, fig. 5, A, (Cater), 5, B, (Chrysalis).

The genus Helicopis was proposed by Fabricius in hisSystema Glossatarum, and he refers to the species above mentioned as one of its typical forms. Although its characters are sufficiently distinctive, it was long confounded with other groups to which it has little relation. It belongs to that section of the diurnal lepidoptera in which the caterpillars are short and depressed, having some resemblance to anoniscus, whence they are called onisciform. The palpi are rather long and slender, and the terminal joint is nearly naked or free from scales. In Helicopis the antennæ terminate in a slightly curved club: the anterior legs are much shorter than the others and clothed with hairs; hinder margin of the anterior wings convex and entire, the corresponding margin of the posterior with six linear tails, the central one much longer than the rest; discoidal cell of the posterior wings open behind; claws very minute.Caterpillar thickly clothed with soft hairs, the chrysalis suspended by the tail, and having a band round the middle.

The best known and most common species of this genus isH. Cupido, which is rather smaller thanH. Gnidus. The former is commonly named the Golden-spot, and the latter the Silver-spot Butterfly. The wings ofH. Gnidus, in the male, are white on both sides, with a slight tinge of yellow at the base, and the outer margin black. At the hinder extremity of the secondary wings there is a row of narrow white marks, which is double at the anal angle; tails black on both sides, the two longest ones tipped with white. The upper wings beneath have a white line dividing the black border behind the middle, and the under pair are ornamented with twenty-one silvery spots, three of which at either extremity are elongated and placed on a white ground, while the rest are insulated and on a ferruginous ground; all of them edged with black. The female is larger than the sex just described, and differs in having a larger fulvous space at the base of the wings, and in having it bounded externally on the under side of the upper pair by a wide black patch; the greater part of the surface of the hinder wings is black, and the posterior row of white crescents is simple: body white, the thorax yellow; antennæ black, ringed with white.

The caterpillar is white, and clothed with long hairs of the same colour; the head yellow, surmounted by a tuft of red hairs. It feeds on theleaves of the passion-flower, and changes into a brown chrysalis, which has a tuft of red hairs at the head and tail.

This species, as well asH. Cupido, is a native of Surinam.

Pap. Octavius,Fabr. Mant.—Pap. Faunus,Fabr. Species.—Pap. Chorineus,Cramer, Pl. 59, fig. A.

As the above genus at present stands, it contains many insects which have but little affinity to each other, as may be seen by comparing the present figure with that on the following plate, both of which have been usually assigned a place in it. If we have not altered this arrangement, it is not because we do not regard it as improper, but from a reluctance to introduce many partial changes, in a place where it would be irrelevant to enter at length on the general subject of classification. The relation which groups bear to each other can be satisfactorily shown only by treating of the whole; and insulated changes are the less desirable at present, as a general arrangement of the whole class will speedily be laid before the public by an individual who has long directedhis attention to the subject. The above-named species belongs to a group in which the upper wings are triangular, and the inferior very much elongated, truncated towards the anal angle, and exteriorly drawn out into a long narrow tail. With the exception of the dark bands and occasional crimson spots, the whole wings are transparent.E. octaviusexpands about an inch and a half. The upper wings are transparent, the whole of the outer margin, and a band running obliquely across the middle, black. Under wings transparent anteriorly, the remainder, including the tail, black; the anal angle with a large crimson patch. The tail is very narrow, and somewhat whitish on the outer edge and at the tip. The under side resembles the upper, except that the red spots are each marked with two white points.

Found in Surinam.

PLATE 25.Lizars sc.1. 2. Erycina Melibaeus.3. Loxura Alcides.1 & 2 from Brazil. 3 Africa.

PLATE 25.

Lizars sc.

1. 2. Erycina Melibaeus.3. Loxura Alcides.1 & 2 from Brazil. 3 Africa.

Pap. E. A. Melibæus,Fabr.—Herbst. Pap.Pl. 59, fig. 4, 5.—Pap. Pyretus,Cramer, Pl. 144, fig. A, B.

This beautiful insect belongs to that division ofErycinawhich has opaque wings, and a short obtuse tail to the hinder pair. It is about two inches in extent of wing. The surface is uniform dark brown, with a bright red oblique band running across the middle of both wings, and a large crescent of the same colour near the origin of the tail. On the inner side of the upper wings there is the appearance of another oblique red band, but it is obsolete except at the hinder margin. The under side forms a striking contrast with the surface, the ground colour being black, with two brilliant blue bands, the outer one very broad, the interior somewhat macular, and terminating behind in a red point. Body brown above and black beneath.

Like most of the species constituting the genusErycina, it is a native of the new world, occurring in greatest plenty in Surinam and Brazil.

Pap. P. R. Alcides,Fabr. Mant.—Hesperia, R. Alcides,Fabr. Syst.—Pap. Alcides,Cramer, Pl. 96, fig. D, E.—Myrina Alcides,Godart.

Loxura includes a few species formerly referred toMyrina, and, like the latter, is distinguished from the allied genera by the extraordinary length of the palpi which rise conspicuously above the head, and are, in fact, nearly half the length of the antennæ. The wings are entire on the edges, and the hinder pair are prolonged each into a single tail, placed obliquely. The antennæ increase gradually towards the apex into a lengthened club, and all the ambulatory legs are of the same form in both sexes. The species represented is a native of Guinea. The extent of the wings is about an inch and three-quarters. On the upper side the wings are dark brown, sprinkled very thickly towards the base with shining violet-blue atoms, making the whole inner half of the wings appear of that colour, and the outer margin of the posterior pair behind the middle, as well as the lengthened tail, are of the same hue. Towards the extremity of the upper wings there is a transverse band of a rusty-red colour, but it is very indistinctly defined. Beneath, the colour is tan-brownas far as the middle of the wings, where there is a narrow yellow line running across the whole surface in the posterior, but abbreviated in the anterior, and placed rather beyond the middle, the space beyond this band covered with a kind of greyish dust. Body brown, the thorax clothed with hairs of the same colour as the base of the wings, antennæ blackish, annulated with white on the under side.

This is an African insect, and seems to be confined to the coast of Guinea.Pap. Coraxof Cramer (Pl. 379, fig. D, E) seems to be a variety of the female. The individual figured by Boisduval (Spec. Gen.Pl. 22) appears to differ considerably from Cramer’s figures, as well as Fabricius’ and Godart’s description: it is represented as having a distinct ocellus at the base of the tail.

Pap. Marsyas,Linn. Fair. Herbst. Pap.Pl. 296, fig. 1, 2;Cramer, Pl. 332, fig. A, B.—Polyommatus Marsyas,Godart.

Notwithstanding the numerous groups which have been recently withdrawn from this genus, it still includes a great variety of modifications of form which would amply justify further subdivision. Even the few examples which have been selected for illustration might afford the types of more than one group; but, for the reasons already mentioned, we prefer presenting them according to Latreille’s arrangement. Most of these insects are beneath the middle size, they are usually adorned with very beautiful colours on the surface, and ornamented with ocelliform spots beneath, a circumstance which has suggested the name. They are distinguished from the immediately preceding genera by having the palpi of ordinary length, or rather short, and all the legs complete, or adapted for walking, in both sexes. The group to which the first species represented belongs, has the costa of the upper wings more or less arched, particularly towards the base, and the hinder margin of the same wings is very slightly concave, especially in the male. The hinderwings have two linear narrow tails towards the anal angle.P. Marsyasis a native of Brazil, Guiana, and some other countries of South America. It is greenish-blue on the upper side, changing with the direction of the incident light into violet, the costa and apical angle of the upper wings widely black. Beneath the colour is lilac, glossy, with seven or eight small black spots, surrounded by a white circle, scattered over the disk of each wing; the anal angle bluish-green, with two short white transverse streaks and two pretty large black spots; tails black with the extremity white, the outer one about half the length of the other. Body blue above and whitish beneath. The antennæ, as in most of the Polyommati, are black with pale rings.

PLATE 26.Lizars sc.1. 2. Polyommatus Marsyas.3. 4. —— Endymion.1 & 2 from S. America. 3 & 4. Surinam.

PLATE 26.

Lizars sc.

1. 2. Polyommatus Marsyas.3. 4. —— Endymion.

1 & 2 from S. America. 3 & 4. Surinam.

Pap. P. R. Endymion,Fabr. Herbst. Pap.Pl. 298, fig. 1, 2. Pap. regalis,Cramer, Pl. 72. fig. E, F. (Fem).

The outline of this richly-ornamented insect perfectly corresponds to that of the preceding species, except that the hinder margin of the upper wings is scarcely concave. The whole disk is very brilliant blue with a tinge of green, surrounded by a black border, which is wide and sinuated on its inner edge in the female, and narrow in the other sex. The anal angle of each of the hinder wings bears a large blood-red mark, and the tails are black tipped with white. On the under side the green hue predominates, and the whole is thickly-powdered as it were with gold dust, giving it a very rich appearance. Near the middle both wings are traversed by a distinct black line, angular posteriorly, and bordered externally by pale blue: behind this, on the under wings, there is a broad deep red or ferruginous band, paler towards its hinder edge and sprinkled with blue atoms: the outer margin of all the wings is darker than the interior. Expansion of the wings about two inches.

PLATE 27.Lizars sc.1. 2. Polyommatus Venus.3. 4. —————— Achaeus.Surinam

PLATE 27.

Lizars sc.

1. 2. Polyommatus Venus.3. 4. —————— Achaeus.Surinam

Pap. P. R. Venus,Fabr. Mantissa.—Hesperia R. Venus,Fabr. Systema.—Pap. Venus,Herbst. Pap.Pl. 294, fig. 1, 2. Pap. Imperialis,Cramer, Pl. 76. fig. E, F.

This beautiful little insect is not unlike the preceding both in its form and colours. It belongs to a section ofPolyommatus, in which the upper wings of the male are marked with an orbicular spot, of a cottony appearance, and frequently a good deal impressed. The expansion of the wings does not exceed an inch and a half. The colour of the surface is brilliant blue, the costa and outer margin of the wings black, and the disk of each marked with two ferruginous points in the male. Beneath, the colour is likewise green, richly glossed with golden yellow, the anterior portion of the under wings transversely streaked with narrow black marks. The tails are wholly black.

All the examples hitherto brought to Europe seem to be from Surinam.

Hisperia R. Achæus,Fabr.—Pap. Achæus,Cramer, Pl. 352, fig. G, H.—Herbst. Pap.Pl. 297, figs. 3, 4.

Nearly the same size asP. Venus, and also a native of Surinam. Upper side dark brown, the superior wings with two oval yellow spots on the disk of each, and two transverse curved streaks of the same colour on the inferior, the anal angle with a ferruginous spot. Under side yellow, with numerous ferruginous patches, each of which is ornamented with several small spots of golden-yellow, the outer border with a continuous ferruginous band bearing a series of golden-yellow elongated spots. Body brown above and yellowish beneath.

The genus to which we have assigned the above name has been hitherto blended with theUraniæ. It is doubtless very closely connected with these insects; but the differences both in the appearance of the perfect insects and the respective caterpillars, render it expedient that they should be separated. The character by which it andUraniaare widely separated from all others, is the form of the antennæ, which are filiform nearly to the middle, where they thicken a little, and from that gradually narrow to a point. The palpi are lengthened and slender, having the second joint greatly compressed, the terminal one more slender, nearly cylindrical, and naked. There is no closed discoidal cell in any of the wings, and almost all the nervures diverge from the base. Not many different kinds are known, and, with one exception, they are natives of America and the West Indian Islands. Their splendid tints of golden green arranged in transverse bars, render them perhaps the most chastely beautiful insects that exist, and has caused them to be named Emerald Butterflies in this country. Sometimes also they are calledPages. They fly so high in the air and with so much velocity, that it is nearly impossible, Madam Merian informs us, to catch them,and the only way therefore to obtain good specimens, is to feed the caterpillar. “Great numbers of this insect,” says Mr. Swainson, speaking of a species almost the exact counterpart ofU. Leilus, “were flying during the whole of the morning, pastAqua Fria(Pernambuco) in a direction from north to south: not one deviated from this course, notwithstanding the flowers which were growing around: they flew against the wind, which blew rather strong, and near the ground, but mounted over every tree or other high object which lay in their course; yet their flight was so rapid, that I could not capture a single specimen. They went singly, and near fifty or sixty must have passed the spot opposite the window before mid-day: they continued to pass for three or four days in this manner. 12th June 181737.”

The present genus differs from Urania in the perfect insect having three distinct tails at the hinder extremity of the posterior wings; neither are these wings so much elongated as in the group just named. The differences between them in their early states will be seen by comparing the following descriptions.

PLATE 28.Lizars sc.Thaliura Rhipheus.Madagascar.

PLATE 28.

Lizars sc.

Thaliura Rhipheus.Madagascar.

Pap. E. A. Rhipheus,Fabr.—Pap. Rhipheus,Cramer, Pl. 385, fig. A, B.—Boisduval, Nouvel. Annal. du Museum d’His. Nat.p. 260, Pl. 8, fig. 1, 2.

This magnificent species is usually about the size ofPapilio Machaon, but sometimes it is a good deal larger. The surface is a deep, velvet-black; the upper wings with numerous transverse lines and stripes of beautiful golden-green, and a broad band of the same colour near the middle deeply cleft anteriorly: this band is likewise continued across the under wings in the direction of the anal angle, but a large space on the latter is brilliant coppery-red with a violet reflection, and marked with four or five black spots; besides this there is another green band near the external margin, the outer edge as well as the tails fringed with hairs: the tails are three in number, that most remote from the anal angle longer than the others. On the under side of the superior wings the green bands are dilated so as to occupy greater part of the surface; the same side of the inferior pair is gilded green at the base and extremity; the whole anal region bright flame colour inclining to purple, with a changeable lustre, prolonged tothe anterior margin and forming a central band, the whole surface marked with orbicular black spots, which become larger posteriorly. Body black, fulvous beneath: antennæ wholly black.

The female is about one-third larger than the male, the anal mark larger and of a golden colour with little mixture of purple.

“This species,” says M. Boisduval, who first completed the natural history of this insect by describing its various states and metamorphoses, “which may be considered as the most beautiful lepidopteron known, inhabits Madagascar. It has been once taken in Bourbon, whither the caterpillar had probably been transported accidentally. According to Cramer it is likewise found on the coast of Coromandel.

“The caterpillar lives on theMangifera Indica. On first issuing from the egg, it is nearly smooth and of a greenish tint; after the first moult it assumes a black colour, becomes covered with spines, and protrudes at pleasure two rose-coloured retractile horns, placed on the first segment. Having attained its full size it is rather slender, dilated laterally towards the middle, and is about two or three inches long. On each side there is a festoon composed of many irregular bands of white, green, and yellow points: the horns, which were of a delicate rose-colour, become carmine-red; the first pair of membraneous legs becomes very short, almost rudimentary, and are of no use in walking; when in motion, therefore, it curves the centre of its bodyupwards into a loop like the caterpillars ofGeometraandCatocala. Before undergoing its metamorphoses, it attaches itself by the tail and a band round the middle, like the caterpillars ofPapilio,Colias,Pieris, &c., or rather like those ofGeometra pendulariaandGyraria.

“The chrysalis is elongated and pointed, scarcely angular, of a green colour with a transverse gilded band; the extremity, which is of a deeper green, is sprinkled with a great number of golden points.

“The perfect insect comes out in about three weeks. Exposed to the sun, it developes itself completely in two or three hours, while individuals born in the shade take nearly a day to develope themselves, and are usually less brilliant.”

As already mentioned,Uraniais distinguished from all other groups, except Thaliura, by the shape of the antennæ, and an obvious character for separating it from that is the presence of only a single tail. The palpi are short and project a little beyond the head, the terminal joint being nearly naked. The tibiæ of the anterior legs are furnished with spines in the middle; and the claws are minute. When at rest the anterior wings are kept in a horizontal position, or but slightly turned upwards, one peculiarity among many others in which they resemble the nocturnal lepidoptera. We are indebted to Mr. Macleay for an account of the metamorphoses of a species which he has namedU. Fernandinæ, but which is probably synonymous with some previously known. The caterpillar feeds on a kind ofOmphaleawhich grows abundantly on the sea-coast of Jamaica. It never appears during the heat of the day, but reposes in a torpid state within a thin transparent web on the under side of the leaves, in order to avoid the rays of the sun. Its only time of feeding is during the night. In its appearance and habits it shows more affinity to the larvæ of the Bombycidæ than to the diurnal Lepidoptera. When about to change to a chrysalisit spins an oval cocoon of yellow silk, the meshes of which are so lax as to allow the inmate to be easily seen. The pupa is not at all angular. “The perfect butterfly,” he adds, “is perfectly diurnal, and very swift in its flight. It is not found in the interior of the island, but it may be seen in plenty as far as two or even three leagues from the coast, sporting in the sun, and sucking the flowers ofCestrum diurnum,Ehretia tinifolia, and other odoriferous trees of small stature. In hot weather and about mid-day it flies particularly high, and may be even observed surmounting the tops of the highest members of the forest. In the afternoon I have often seen it sport about some capriciously chosen spot, such as a particular branch of Mango, where it would always return to alight on almost the same leaf, in a manner that has sometimes reminded me of a well known habit of theMusicapæ. Thus does our insect spend whole hours until sunset, when the bats usually terminate its diversion and its life. On the approach of winter it may be seen at times alighting on hedges, when specimens are more easily captured. The flight, however, ofU. Fernandinæis always strong, and it starts like theFringillidæ. When it alights on a leaf, all the four wings are expanded horizontally; and rarely, if ever, take a vertical position, like those of the species of the Linnæan genusPapilio, when at rest38.”

Godart.—Pap. Sloanus,Cramer, Pl. 85, fig. E, F.—Pap. Leilius,Var. Fabr.—Leilius Occidentalis,Swainson, Illus.Pl. 129.

Expands about two inches and a half or three inches; surface deep black; the upper wings each with six or seven transverse lines of golden green, and near the middle a band of that colour bifid (sometimes trifid) anteriorly. Under wings with a central band of bright coppery red, irregularly indented, the abdominal margin more or less gilded green; the tail black with a few emerald green spots. Design on the under side corresponding to that on the surface, the green paler. Body black above, with a dorsal line of golden green, and another on each side; brownish beneath.

This handsome species bears the name of the celebrated Sir Hans Sloane, the early historian of Jamaica, who figured it in his work (Pl. 239, fig. 11, 12). It is accounted a rare insect, and, we believe, has hitherto been found only in the West Indian Islands.

PLATE 29.Lizars sc.1. Urania Sloanus.2. Urania Leilus.W. Indies.Surinam.

PLATE 29.

Lizars sc.

1. Urania Sloanus.2. Urania Leilus.W. Indies.Surinam.

Pap. Leilus,Linn. Fabr. Cramer, Pl. 85, fig. C, D;Merian’s Surinam. Ins.Pl. 29.—Urania Leilus,Fabr. Syst. Gloss.—Leilus Surinamensis,Swainson. Zool. Illus.Pl. 125.—Le Page de Cayenne,Daubenton, Pl. enlum. 71, fig. 1.

Larger than the preceding, frequently expanding four inches. Ground colour deep velvet black on both sides, the pictorial design on the upper wings nearly as inU. Sloanus, there being eight or nine slender transverse lines, slightly curved, of beautiful green, with a silky lustre, and the usual band near the middle sometimes divided into three or four ramifications as it approaches the costa. A band of light sericeous green likewise runs across the inferior wings, deeply indented on both sides, and often quite interrupted by transverse patches of the ground colour; the tail nearly white; the fringe pure white. Body thick and robust, especially in the females; black, rayed with emerald green.

This lovely insect appears to be pretty abundant in Surinam, as great numbers have been transmitted to this country.

Although the butterfly seems to occur so frequently, we are not aware that the caterpillar hasbeen noticed by any competent observer since the time of Madam Merian, at least no notice of it has been published since. It was long suspected that her figure of it was unworthy of credit, but from what has been recently observed in relation to the larvæ of kindred species (particularly that ofT. Rhipheus), it now appears probable that her information was correct. Anomalies similar to those which characterise the perfect insects, likewise attend them in their previous state. They are covered with spines, as is the case among many of theNymphalidæ, and they are provided with a retractile tentaculum as inPapilio. In the present instance the spines are remarkable for their length and rigidity, particularly those on the anterior and posterior segments.

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