Part 8

This delicate and handsome species is much the smallest, the expansion of the wings not being quite four inches. The ground colour is dusky white, with two remote rows of rounded spots, another at the extremity of the discoidal cell, and several smaller ones on the costa beyond the middle. The abdomen is entirely whitish, the thorax with two connivent black rays on the back and numerous black spots anteriorly: antennæ black.

It is said by Dr. Boisduval, to whose excellent work we are indebted for a knowledge of it, to be a native of Borneo.

GENUS HELICONIA.

This beautiful genus is easily recognized by its peculiar aspect, as well as by the more precise characters which it affords. The anterior wings are long, narrow, and entire, and the hinder pair often recede considerably from the abdomen, which is long and slender. The breadth of the insect, therefore, when flying, always greatly exceeds its length. No lepidopterous insect is ever entirely without scales, but in a section of this group, they are so few and minute as to leave the wings perfectly transparent. The palpi rise obviously above the head; the second joint is greatly longer than the first, and has a long tuft of hair near the apex, the terminal one is also a good deal produced. The antennæ are, at least, double the length of the head and thorax, and thicken gradually at the extremity. The anterior tarsus is considerably dilated and slightly dentated; claws simple. Such of the caterpillars as have been described, differ remarkably from each other, and some of them seem to have no analogy with those of the neighbouring groups. This discrepancy, in connexion with some others in the perfect insects, has already led to the separation of certain groups from _Heliconia_ as it was formerly constituted. The larva of _H. Euterpe_ is robust and depressed, with a series of long fleshy lobes on each side; that of _H. Calliope_ short and cylindrical, clothed with slender spines and tufts of hair: these species form the genus _Nerias_, although they are too dissimilar to be associated with propriety. Others are smooth (_H. Psidii_), and some are covered with very long white hairs (_H. Ricini_). In these circumstances, it is not likely that a natural arrangement of this pretty group will be effected until we become better acquainted with the caterpillars, very few of which have hitherto been examined. Chrysalis invariably suspended by the tail only.

These insects, as has been already mentioned, are confined to America and the West India Islands, the larva subsisting on the different kinds of _Passifloræ_, a beautiful tribe of plants well known to be likewise peculiar to the new world. They seem to be represented in India, as Dr. Horsfield remarks, by the genera _Euplœa_ and _Idea_.

HELICONIA ERATO.

PLATE XI. Fig. 1.

_Godart._--Pap. Erato, _Linn._--Heb. Ricini (Mas.), _Fabr._---Pap. Amathusia, _Cramer_, Pl. 177, fig. F.

Extent of the wings about three inches; the ground colour deep black. Upper wings with three diverging rays of deep red at the base, the inferior one longest and extending rather beyond the middle; not far from the extremity of these rays there is a large discoidal patch of sulphur-yellow, unequally divided into two parts by a black bifurcated nervure; beyond this, near the apex, is a series of contiguous spots of the same colour, varying from two to five. Under wings with six deep red rays extending from the base towards the hinder margin, and behind the place where these terminate, an arched row of small blue spots. The colour beneath is dark brown; the upper wings marked nearly as on the surface, except that the costa at the base is alone tinged with red; under wings with eight diverging pale-red lines, and a row of whitish marks parallel with the hinder margin. Body black; the sides of the thorax and abdomen marked with small yellow spots. In the beautiful variety figured, the red lines on the secondary wings, as well as the discoidal nervure, are bordered with a narrow stripe of shining blue.

This species is a native of Surinam, where it occurs not unfrequently.

HELICONIA CYNISCA.

PLATE XI. Fig. 2.

_Godart._--Pap. Ricini (Fem.), _Linn._--H. Erato, _Fabr._--Pap. Vesta, _Cramer_, Pl. 119, fig. A.

This species presents a considerable similarity to the preceding, both in size and distribution of colours. The surface is deep black; a large portion at the base of the anterior wings fulvous-red, traversed by three black nervures; near the middle a large spot of sulphur-yellow, and beyond it a circular series of smaller unequal spots of the same colour. The under wings have from five to seven red stripes, extending in a radiated form from the base towards the hinder margin. Beneath the design is similar, but the ground colour inclines to brown, and one of the yellow spots on the superior wings is prolonged nearly to the base. The body is black, the sides of the thorax spotted with yellow, and the breast marked with transverse lines of the same colour; there is likewise a yellow line along the under side of the abdomen.

The above description applies to the most ordinary form of this insect, but it is liable to a good deal of variation. It occurs in Guiana.

HELICONIA SYLYANA.

PLATE XI. Fig. 3.

_Godart._--Pap. Sylvana, _Cramer_, Pl. 364, C, D.--_Herbst., Pap._ tab. xvii. fig. 1, 2.

This handsome species measures upwards of three inches and a quarter between the tips of the wings; the latter are very much rounded, entire on the edges, and the hinder pair diverge widely from the abdomen; the superior fulvous from the base to the middle, with the costa, a slender streak at the base, and a central kidney-shaped spot, black; beyond this a pretty wide oblique band of sulphur yellow; the space between this band and the apex deep black, with eight unequal spots of dull yellow, slightly transparent, disposed in two irregular transverse bands, and two or three small white points at the apex. Inferior wings likewise with the inner half fulvous, the outer half black, emitting narrow stripes internally, one of which reaches nearly to the base, dividing the wing into two portions; towards the hinder margin are a few yellow spots: body cinereous, with a yellow longitudinal line on each side, and a similarly coloured band along the belly; antennæ reddish-brown, dusky at the base.

A native of Surinam.

HELICONIA FLORA.

PLATE XII. Figs. 1 and 2.

_Godart._--Pap. Flora, _Cramer_, Pl. 257, fig. B, C

The above plate affords examples of that division of the Heliconian butterflies, in which the greater proportion of the wings is denuded of scales and transparent. _H. Flora_ of Cramer very closely resembles _H. Ægle_ (Fabr.), and may possibly prove a mere variety of that species. It expands nearly two inches. The upper wings are black with two transparent bands, that next the base very large, lying parallel with the costa as far as the middle, and then descending obliquely towards the posterior angle, divided by a transverse black stripe, and a longitudinal nervure of the same colour; the second band macular, and placed near the apex. The under wings are transparent, the whole of the outer border surrounded by a black stripe, which is divided towards the angle by a fulvous line; the nervures black. Under side similar in design to the upper, but the whole of the outer border of the wings surrounded by a rust-coloured line, and the extreme edge marked with a few very small white points. Body cinereous above and greyish beneath; antennæ black.

The caterpillar probably resembles that of _H. Ægle_, represented by Madam Merian, which is brown, clothed with hairs, and feeds on the _Sophora_. Both species are found in Surinam.

HELICONIA DIAPHANA.

PLATE XII. Fig. 3.

_Godart._--Pap. Diaphana, _Fabr., Cramer_, Pl. 231, fig. C, and Pl. 315, fig. D, E--_Drury’s Exot. Insects_, ii. Pl. 7, fig. 3.

About the size of the preceding, but the wings narrower and wholly transparent, with the outer margin and nervures brownish-black. On the upper wings, rather beyond the middle, there is a black abbreviated transverse band, placed somewhat obliquely, and preceded by a small white spot on the costa. On the under side the marginal band is not so dark as above, and there is frequently a series of small white spots on the hinder edge of the posterior wings; in the latter also, the anterior edge is tinged with sulphur yellow. Body black above and grey beneath, with white points on the head; antennæ black.

The marginal band varies in breadth, and in the secondary wings it is sometimes longitudinally divided by a narrow line of rust-red.

Occurs in Jamaica, Brazil, Virginia, &c.

GENUS ACRÆA.

The insects of this genus are generally below the middle size, and of a brownish-red colour, variously striped and spotted with black. With the exception of a small division, which ought probably to be referred to another genus, they are natives of the old world, principally of the western coasts of Africa. The palpi are slender and nearly cylindrical, the terminal joint minute, forming a kind of nipple on the apex of the second which is very long; antennæ rather short and terminating somewhat suddenly in a club; anterior tarsus spatulate, scarcely toothed at the extremity; internal edge of the inferior wings not embracing the abdomen. The caterpillars are either spiny, like those of _Argynnis_, or covered with rigid hairs, but we are yet acquainted with very few of them. The chrysalis is suspended by the tail.

ACRÆA PASIPHÆ.

PLATE XII. Fig. 4.

_Godart._--Helic. Pasiphæ, _Fabr._--Pap. Media, _Cramer_, Pl. 81, fig. C, D.

Surface of the wings white, with a slight tinge of blue, a large space at the base, and the nervures brown; the whole of the middle portion clouded with black spots of various dimensions, and the extremity bordered with a rather wide black band, sinuated on the inner side. The under side is paler and has the marginal band interrupted by a row of small greyish-blue quadrangular spots preceded by a reddish macular line. Body black above, variegated with white marks on the back, and yellowish beneath.

Found in Guinea, and other countries on the west coast of Africa.

GENUS CETHOSIA.

This genus includes several pretty large and showy insects, several of which, have some resemblance, in the wide expansion of their wings compared with their limited breadth in the direction of the body, to the genera immediately preceding, while others shew a decided affinity to _Argynnis_. The greater part of them are natives of America, but others occur in the eastern countries of the old world. The palpi are contiguous below, but diverge at the extremity, and terminate in a slender acicular joint; antennæ with an oblong club; inferior wings embracing the abdomen; claws simple. The caterpillars appear to be generally spiny, and to resemble those of _Argynnis_.

CETHOSIA DIDO.

PLATE XIII.

Ceth. Dido. _Fabr._--Pap. Dido, _Linn._--_Marian’s Surin. Insects_, Pl. 2, (with Caterpillar).--_Cramer_, Pl. 196, fig. E, F.

This species expands about four inches; the ground colour of the surface is black, variously interrupted with stripes and patches of green. On the upper wings a longitudinal stripe of that colour extends from the base to the extremity of the discoidal cell; beyond which there is a transverse series of large contiguous spots, and two or three small insulated ones. The inferior wings have two transverse green bands, one of them broad and continuous placed near the base, and terminating nearly in a point towards the outer margin; the other consisting of six or seven orbicular spots, and placed nearly midway between the former band and the hinder extremity. The under side differs considerably from the upper, the ground colour being blackish-brown, while all the green parts are bordered with pearl-white, and along the posterior margin there is a series of white lunules, each of them divided by a brown nervure; near the origin of the secondary wings a small longitudinal red line is likewise observable. The body is blackish above and grey beneath, the thorax marked with a few reddish points.

The caterpillar has been figured by Madam Merian. She represents it as bearing several rows of short spines, rising in a radiated manner from a tubercle, and two very long caudal appendages. It is of a green colour, having a red and white ray along each side of the body.

The insect is found in Brazil and Guiana.

CETHOSIA CYANE.

PLATE XIV.

Pap. Cyane, _Linn._--Cethosia Cyane, _Fabr. Godart._--Pap. Cyane, _Drury_, i pl. 4, fig. 1. var.

Extent of the wings nearly four inches, the length not much exceeding the breadth, the whole external margin deeply dentated and the notches margined with white. Upper wings fulvous towards the base and spotted with black; the external half brownish-black, traversed by an oblique white band, having two rounded black spots at its lower extremity; behind this are a few white marks in the shape of a horse-shoe, and a line of white lunules; and on the margin itself a narrow festooned white line. Surface of the secondary wings fulvous-yellow, with several irregular black spots near the base, and three regular transverse rows of black spots, the innermost formed of small rounded spots, the intermediate one of larger spots surrounded with white, and the external one of spots inclining to a crescent-shape; the hinder margin brownish- black with a festooned white line similar to that on the upper wings. The whole of the under side is reddish-yellow, with markings nearly corresponding to those on the surface, but on the anterior wings there are several abbreviated transverse yellow lines anteriorly, bordered with black; and the under wings are traversed by two yellow bands, bearing rows of black spots. The body is fulvous above, and spotted beneath with black.

Found on the coast of Malabar. Drury’s figure seems to represent a variety.

GENUS VANESSA.

The insects referred to this genus, which is well known as having many handsome representatives in Britain, are distributed over almost every quarter of the globe. Besides those which occur in this country, many others are found on the continent of Europe, and they are equally abundant in tropical regions. Contrary to what is observed in most other instances, the species inhabiting the latter are in general not superior in size or richness of colours to those of temperate latitudes; our own _V. Atalanta_ will contrast favourably with any of them. Among the few exceptions to this remark, in respect to size, may be mentioned _V. Arsinoe_ and the rare species figured on the adjoining plate. The latter is

VANESSA JULIANA.

PLATE XV. Fig. 1.

_Sodart._--Pap. N. Juliana, _Fabr._--Pap. Juliana, _Cramer_, Pl. 280, fig. A, B.--_Herbst. Pap._ Pl. 220, fig. 1, 2.

It is the largest of the Vanessæ, measuring nearly five inches across the upper wings. The surface is dull brown, with a broad common transverse band of greenish white, placed between the middle and the external margin of the wings. On the upper wings this band is composed of a double series of spots, the interior ones small and crescent-shaped, the exterior large and oval with a large black mark in the centre: on the under wings it is more continuous, with a row of white lunules externally, and two large ocelli, remote from each other, having a blue pupil and a yellow iris. The under side is much paler than the upper, and the band on the anterior wings is nearly as entire as in the posterior pair.

This conspicuous species is a native of the island of Amboina.

VANESSA AMATHEA.

PLATE XV. Fig. 2.

Pap. N. Amathea, _Linn. Fabr._--Pap. Amalthea, _Cramer_, Pl. 209, fig. A, B.

The surface of the wings in this pretty insect is dark brown approaching to black, with a broad band of deep red running across the centre of both wings, but scarcely reaching the anal angle, and bifid at its anterior extremity: beyond this on the anterior wings are two transverse rows of small white spots, both of them irregular; and on the hinder pair a single row-of similar spots: the notches on the margins of the wings are also whitish. The under side is much paler than the surface, but the markings are similar. Body dull black above; antennæ of the same colour, with the extremity of the club reddish. Expansion of the wings from two inches to two and a quarter.

A South American species, inhabiting Brazil, Guiana, &c.

VANESSA ORITHYA.

PLATE XV. Fig. 3.

_Godart._--Pap. N. Orithya, _Linn. Fabr._--_Roesel’s Beslust. Insect._ vol. iv. pl. 6, fig. 2.--Pap. Orithya, _Cramer_, Pl. 19, fig. C, D; Pl. 32, fig. E, F; Pl. 281, fig. E, F: Pl. 209, fig. A, B, C, D.

This very elegant species, which is a native of China and the island of Java, is subject to much variation in its colour and markings. In its most ordinary state the colour of the surface is velvet-black in the male and dark brown in the female, with two large ocelli on each wing having a violet-blue pupil and a yellowish-red iris. The costa of the primary wings is generally dull white, and towards the base are two or three transverse stripes alternately blue and tawny-yellow; towards the apex are three whitish bands, the interior one broadest, the middle one interrupted by the ocellus, the third narrow and lying along the external margin. The secondary wings are surrounded by a white band divided throughout its whole length by a double undulating black line; the space between this band and the middle of the wing bluish-green in the male, a colour which scarcely appears in the female, and the anterior portion generally black in the former sex. Under side pale, the transverse stripes much elongated and six in number; the under wings greyish-brown or greyish-white, with several obscure undulating lines towards the base, with a row of four or five unequal ocelli having a blue iris in the female, but almost obsolete in the male. Body black above, greyish beneath.

The figure represents a variety of the female, the same as that delineated by Cramer.

The caterpillar, beset with branched spines, is of a black colour with numerous scattered white points, and has a white line along each side above the legs, and two rows of yellowish brown spots.

CHARAXES JASIUS.

PLATE XVI.

_Ochsenheimer._--Pap. Jason, _Linn._--Pap. Jasius, _Fabr._--Esper. cater, and chrys.--Drury’s Insects, i. Pl. 1. fig. 1.--Pap. Jason. _Cramer_, Pl. 339, A, B.--Nymph. Jasius, _Godart_, _Latreille_.

The genus _Charaxes_ was separated from _Nymphalis_ by Ochsenheimer for the reception of this butterfly, which may be regarded as the most beautiful inhabiting Europe. It varies in the expansion of the wings from three to four inches; the surface a rich silky brown, changing slightly with the light. Along the hinder margin of the primary wings there is a broad fulvous band, more or less sinuated on the inner side and narrowly edged with black externally, divided by eight nervures, which are dark brown ; rather beyond the middle of the wing, a transverse band of large fulvous continuous spots extends from the costa to the inner margin, and is sometimes continued for a short way on the secondary wings; the latter likewise with a posterior band, formed of contiguous spots of a fulvous colour, more or less tinged with green, preceded by a series of from five to seven bluish-green spots, commencing at the anal angle; the margin itself black, as well as the projecting angles, two of which are prolonged into tails. Beneath, the anterior portion of all the wings is rust-red, marked with spots and transverse stripes of olive-brown, encircled with white; beyond this there is a white band of a satiny lustre, bordered externally on the upper wings with dusky lunules; the space beyond these lunules is fulvous, traversed by a band of slate-grey, with a series of black spots, inclining to triangular, on the inner side of it. Beyond the white band on the secondary wings there is a row of ferruginous spots, succeeded by an olive-coloured space bearing a row of violet-blue points; the posterior band similar to that on the upper side. Head and thorax rust-brown; abdomen dull brown, with greyish hairs; antennæ black, proboscis shining rust-red.

The female scarcely differs in appearance from the male, except in having the under side of the hinder wings finely sprinkled in the middle with blue points.

“The Jasius butterfly is one of the largest, rarest, and most beautiful of the European diurnal Lepidoptera. It occurs in the southern countries of France, for example, in the neighbourhood of Lyons, the Isles d’Hières, near Toulon and Montpellier; also in Italy, Sicily, Corsica, some parts of Northern Africa, and in Asia Minor. Lefebure de Cerisy of Toulon has payed considerable attention to the metamorphoses of this fine insect. The caterpillar, which in its early stage is green, becomes afterwards of a yellowish hue, and its skin is as it were shagreened and transversely plaited. Its head is singularly armed with four vertical yellow horns tipped with red, of which the two intermediate are the longest. A yellow line passes along each side of the body in the region of the stigmata, and the back is marked with four indistinct orange spots. The true feet are black, the membranous ones green. It feeds on the leaves of the strawberry tree, and never eats except during the night. Its habits are very lethargic. During day-light it remains fixed and motionless on its favourite plant, which it resembles in colour, and thus escapes observation. The chrysalis is smooth, thick, carinated, and of a coriaceous texture, the colour pale green. Two broods or flights of the perfect insect are produced each year, the first in June, the second in September. The caterpillars of the autumnal brood survive the winter, and are not transformed into chrysalids till the ensuing May. The perfect insects are then produced in about fifteen days. These speedily deposit their eggs, which are hatched in June, and after three months occupied in the usual transformations, the second flight appears in September, and continues the race in the manner above mentioned. In many parts of France the butterfly is named the _Pacha with two Tails_[33]”.

NYMPHALIS ETHEOCLES.

PLATE XVII. Fig. 1.

Pap. Etheocles, _Fabr._--_Cramer_, Pl. 119, fig. D, E.--Nymph. Etheocles, _Godart_.

This and the following species present an outline very similar to that of _C. Jasius_, and they might even, without much impropriety, he referred to the same genus; but, as there are several points of difference, and as we are yet unacquainted with the caterpillars, it may he preferable in the mean time to allow them to remain in the situation they occupied in Latreille’s arrangement.