Zoological Illustrations Volume I Part 2

_Palpi breves, curvati, compressi ad linguam, squamis dense tecti.

Articulis tribus; primo longissimo, ad basin curvato, ultra erecto; secundo erecto, brevi; tertio minimo, proclivi; apice nudo, obtuso.

Antennae breves, cylindraceae, ad apicem nudum et abrupte truncatum sensim incra.s.satae. Alae anteriores trigonae. Abdomen maris, ultimo articulo acuto, et subtus tenui unco incurvato; valvis magnis, attenuatis, aduncis._

Typus Genericus _Colias Ebule._

Palpi short, curved, compressed on the tongue, thickly covered with scales. Articulations three; the first very long, curved at the base, erect beyond; the second erect, short; the third minute, inclining forward; the tip naked, obtuse. Antennae short, cylindric, gradually thickening to their tip, which is naked and abruptly truncate. Anterior wings trigonal. Abdomen of the male with the last joint pointed, and a slender incurved hook beneath; the valves large, attenuated and hooked.

Generic Type _Colias Ebule_.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_C. alis dilute flavis, vel fulvis; anticis supra, puncto medio margineque extimo, nigris; subtus ferrugineis; posticis subtus, singulis duobus niveis punctis inaequalibus; palpis productis._

Wings diluted yellow or fulvous; anterior with a black border and central dot, which beneath is ferrugineous; posterior beneath, each with two unequal snowy spots; palpi lengthened.--_Female._

Papilio Statira. _Cramer, pl._ cxx. _fig._ C. D.

The present insect is selected to ill.u.s.trate a very elegant family of b.u.t.terflies, whose predominant tints are composed of orange, yellow, and white, variously blended and disposed in a greater or less degree throughout all the species. The generic characters above given will distinguish them as peculiar to the tropics, and princ.i.p.ally those of South America; one or two species only being found in Africa, and five or six inhabiting India.

I have no doubt this is the _Pap. Statira_ of Cramer; it is found only in Brazil, and has been erroneously considered by G.o.dart and Latreille as a variety of _C. Jugurthina_, an Indian insect, and which in fact is not in itself a species, being no other than the female of _C. Alcmeone_, as an attentive examination of a vast number of both, collected in Java by Dr.

Horsfield, enabled me to ascertain.

The extraordinary prolongation of the last joint of the palpi, and the white borderless spots beneath, which are never silvered, will distinguish this species through all the variations; in the ground colour of its wings, which in no two specimens are exactly alike, and one before me is nearly white; the lesser snowy dot is sometimes very obscure, and often wanting; but the prolongation of the palpi is even expressed in Cramer's figure above quoted.

I have examined about a dozen specimens, mostly captured by myself, and all have been females; and I strongly suspect future and more decided observations will prove _C. Evadne_ to be the other s.e.x: it has the palpi lengthened, though in a less degree; and the articulations of the antennae in both insects will be found somewhat thickened at their termination when viewed under a magnifier, a peculiarity I have seen in no other species; and although I have examined near thirty specimens of _C. Evadne_, they have invariably proved to be males.

The palpi in this insect will be found at variance with the generic character now given; a striking proof that in a natural system no single part can be taken as an unerring criterion for generic distinction, without making it eventually an artificial one. The _Colias Drya_ of Fabricius has the same formation of palpi, but is a totally different insect.

Pl. 6

[Ill.u.s.tration]

COLIAS Leachiana.

_Leachian Colias._

GENERIC CHARACTER.--See Pl. 5.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_C. alis subrotundatis, integris, virescenti-albidis, anticis supra fulvis, margine punctoque medio nigris, singulis subtus macula centrali ferruginea._ Encycl. Method.

(Male) wings slightly rounded, entire, greenish white; anterior pair above orange, at their tips, margin, and central dot black: each pair beneath with a central ferrugineous spot. Female ----?

C. Leachiana. _G.o.dart in Encycl. Method._ vol. ix. p. 91.

In size this insect is the largest of the genus yet discovered; it was first noticed by G.o.dart, who has given it the name of my learned and valued friend, Dr. W. E. Leach, of the British Museum, whose talents are too well known to need any eulogium in this place.

It appears to inhabit both the northern and southern extremities of Brazil; for I have seen it in a box sent from Para, and my specimens were captured in Minas Geraes by my friend Dr. Langsdorff. It is, however, a rare species; for I have only seen seven or eight specimens, and they were all males: the female, when found, will probably differ as remarkably as in most of this genus.

The opaque spot on the inferior wings above is very large; but the tuft of hair corresponding beneath the superior wings, is entirely wanting. It should be likewise observed, that although this insect in every outward respect resembles a genuine _Colias_ (the type of which may be _C. Ebule_), it differs very materially in the terminal appendages of the abdomen; the last joint being the shortest, and scarcely pointed; and the hook, instead of being concealed beneath this segment, is exserted beyond it, and met by two others, one at the base of each lateral valve: these valves are also much shorter, ovate, and not attenuated, although ending in an incurved hook. In the present ignorance in which a true knowledge of the Lepidoptera is involved, it is impossible to say how far these dissimilarities may point out natural groups; it is therefore of the highest importance to the science such facts should be noticed.

Pl. 7

[Ill.u.s.tration]

CARDUELIS cucullata.

_Hooded Seed-eater._

GENERIC CHARACTER.

_Rostrum breve, validum, conic.u.m, rectissimum; mandibulis subaequalibus; apice immarginato, recto, acuto; mandibula superiore culmine convexa; inferiore basi marginis angulata, utrinque subtusque convexa._

Typus Genericus _Fringilla Canaria_. Lath., &c.

Bill short, stout, very conic, without any curvature above; both mandibles nearly equal, the tip entire, straight and sharp; upper mandible convex above: lower one at the base of the margin with an obtuse angle, the sides and under part convex.

Generic Type _Fringilla Canaria_. Latham, &c.

SPECIFIC CHARACTER.

_C. aurantia: capite, gutture, fascia trans tectrices, remigibus caudaque nigris; remigibus primoribus basi oblique aurantio fasciatis._

Orange: head, front of the neck, bar across the wing-covers, quills and tail black; greater quills at their base obliquely barred with orange.