Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia Volume II Part 56

[Family Thynnidae Shuckard.]

My reasons for establishing the family Thynnidae I shall expose in my monograph of that family, which would have been published ere this but for the difficulty of procuring specimens for dissection; and as I must for a similar reason defer the positive character until I publish the synopsis of the whole, I will give those negative ones which are comprised in the differences which distinguish it from Scotaena of Klug, and from which it may be separated by its much swollen and protuberant clypeus, being considerably less emarginate. Genae scarcely conspicuous.

Antennae longer and more porrect; second submarginal cell as long as the third; abdomen broader at the base, its ventral surface concave; hypopygium scarcely carinated laterally, and pygidium prominent and deeply emarginate, its lateral edges produced into acute teeth. External differences apparently so small, and which might elsewhere be deemed inadequate to the establishment of genera, become important in this remarkable family, from their being confirmed by the structure of the trophi, and the strong distinctions exhibited in their females in every instance that has yet presented itself to me, wherever I have had the certainty of specific ident.i.ty in these heterogynous insects, from the direct observation of my friends in Australia.

Oncorhinus xanthospilos, Shuckard.

Black--clypeus, mandibles, lower portion of face in front of eyes, a narrow streak above and behind them--anterior margin of collar, tegulae, tubercles and adjacent part of epimerae--a round spot on each side of each segment of the abdomen, except the terminal one--apex of the femora, the tibiae and tarsi, all yellow; the posterior tibiae being only brown within, and the extreme apex of the joints of their tarsi also brown.

Habitat King George's Sound. Length 11 lines, expansion of the wing 18 lines.

This is a unique species in the genus as far as I have yet had the opportunity of ascertaining.

W.E.S.

NEUROPTERA.

Bittacus australis, Klug. Monogr. Panorp. Berlin Transactions sp. no. 11.

Habitat King George's Sound.

HEMIPTERA.

Ch.o.e.rOCYDNUS, n.g.

Head broad, in front somewhat truncated; ocelli wanting; antennae five-jointed, second joint longest, third, fourth and fifth, somewhat thickened and nearly equal; beak reaching to base of last pair of legs, if not beyond; third joint the longest; thorax in front notched for reception of head, not so wide as the body; scutellum long and pointed, the line separating it from hemelytra very indistinct; hemelytra without a membrane at the end; tibiae very spiny; abdomen broadest behind; tarsi of fore-legs very feeble, two-jointed, second joint shorter than the first, and ending in two claws.

Ch.o.e.rocydnus foveolatus, new species. Ill.u.s.tration 23 Insects 6.

Dark pitchy brown; head, thorax, and body margined with hairs; head above minutely punctured, an elongated s.p.a.ce in the middle, smooth; thorax above minutely punctured with some larger impressed dots, and irregularly shaped smooth s.p.a.ces, the coriaceous part pitted; antennae and tarsi light ferruginous.

Inhabits King George's Sound.

LEPIDOPTERA.

Papilio liris, G.o.dart. Encycl. Meth. 9 Papilio page 72 no. 132. Boisduval Spec. gener. des Lepidopt. 1 page 269 number 92. De Haan. Bijdr. etc.

Verh. Nat. geschied. etc. Zool. Insecta tab. 4 f. 3 page 40.

It may perhaps be not altogether foreign to the purpose of this list to say that in the collection of the British Museum there are two specimens of this species from the North-west coast of New Holland, where they were collected by the late Mr. Allan Cunningham. The whole of his collection was bought by Mr. Children, and many of the rare Lepidoptera in it were named by Mr. G.R. Gray. G.o.dart's description of the body agrees exactly with the male in the national collection, les cotes et le bout de l'abdomen d'un rouge-carmin tendre. Boisduval, in the standard work above alluded to, says of this species, dessous et extremite de l'abdomen d'un rouge carmin. FEMELLE SEMBLABLE AU MALE, sur quatre individus que nous possedons, AUCUN NE VARIE. In one of the Museum specimens (a female) the abdomen is nearly entirely black, and the brown in both specimens is of the same rich deep shade that is found in the Papilio polydorus. The abdomen may possibly be that of some other species, as the specimen is not in very good condition. I regard the specimens from the north-west coast of New Holland as a slight local variety. G.o.dart's specimens came from the East Indies and Boisduval's from Timor. I find that Monsieur W.

de Haan, in the splendid work published at Leyden on the Natural History of the Dutch colonies in the East and West Indies, etc. has described and figured "the female" of this species with the following note; his specimens were from Timor-Kupang. On the lower side of both wings there is a carmine a.n.a.l spot placed at the end of the yellow band and gradually running into it, this spot is larger and more deeply coloured in the male than in the female; in the former it shows itself on the upper side, along the inner edge, as a small streak which is not visible in the latter (l.c. page 40). I may add that his figure of the abdomen is red, and the specimens are larger than those in the Museum (Bijdragen tot de Kennis der Papilionidea, in the Verhandel. over de Natuurl. Geschied etc.

Zool. No 3 tab. 4 f. 3 1840.)

Pieris aganippe (Donovan) Boisduval var. Lepidopt. 1 page 457.

Papilio aganippe Donovan Ins. of New Holland.

Habitat King George's Sound.

Hipparchia merope (Fabricius).

Habitat King George's Sound.

Hesperia ? Sophia. Ill.u.s.tration 24 Insects 7.

Above, brownish black; upper wings varied with bluish grey scales, many near the outer margin arranged into a somewhat regular series; a transverse, slightly bent, white band runs from near the outer edge close to the tip, to near the middle of the wing; wings fringed with greyish and black; under wings brownish black, with fulvescent orange spots and a band, one small spot somewhat transverse, near the middle, beneath this a broadish band extends from the a.n.a.l margin nearly to the outer side of wing, which is divided by a brown line, leaving an irregular squareish spot, attenuated towards the outer margin; on the margin are three differently-shaped dots beginning from the internal margin, and in one of the specimens are four slight lunules, growing fainter as they approach the outer margin. Beneath, upper wings with two transverse fulvescent orange bands, one near the centre, the other at the tip, broadest externally, with three black spots, the outer largest running into it near the margin, interiorly it is much contracted ending in spots; the base of the wings is yellowish grey, under wings yellowish grey at base, otherwise very similarly marked, the outer part of the orange band having two longitudinal whitish lines on it; antennae at base fringed with white; club brown. Body above silky yellowish brown; borders of segments lighter; beneath, greyish white.

Inhabits King George's Sound. Capt George Grey.

This seems to belong to a new genus not far removed from Castnia or Coronis.

Hecatesia thyridion, Feisthamel. Ill.u.s.tration 25 Insects 8.

1. Hecatesia thyridion female.

1a. do. male upper side.

1b. under.

1c. fenestra in wing of male.

1d. section of fenestre.

2. Hecatesia fenestrata male.

Lepidopt. Voyage Favorite Supplement plate 5 f. 1 male.

Female alis longioribus, maculis albis triseriatis alarum anticarum majoribus, nulla macula diaphana fenestrata ad costam.

The genus Hecatesia was founded by Boisduval in 1829,* upon a singular Zygenidous insect sent to Latreille by Mr. Alexander Macleay, from New Holland, in some part of which it does not seem to be uncommon.

(*Footnote. Essai sur une Monographie des Zygenides page 11.)

The species H. fenestrata Boisduval (l.c. page 11 plate 1 f. 2) was brought by Mr. Hunter, Surgeon of Captain King's expedition, and by him presented to the British Museum. Another species has been described by the Baron Feisthamel in the voyage of the Favorite (page 19 plate 5 f. 1) under the name of H. thyridion.* Of this species there are specimens in the collection presented to the British Museum, and I take the present opportunity of describing the female of this species, only remarking that it wants the fenestrated clear s.p.a.ce in the upper wing.**

(*Footnote. Lepidopteres nouveau, etc. Supplement a la Zoologie du voyage autour du monde de la Favorite sous le commandement de M. Laplace capitaine de Fregate.)

(**Footnote. At first, from the body being so much more slender than in the fenestrated specimens, I thought it might be the male but, on showing the specimen to Mr. Edward Doubleday, he p.r.o.nounced it a female.

The H. thyridion is distinguished from the H. fenestrata by its larger size, and a third yellowish white interrupted band close to the base of the first pair of wings; the fenestrated spot is narrower, more lunated, and is much smaller in proportion than in the corresponding part in Dr.

Boisduval's species. The body beneath is girded with four yellowish white and black bands, the black bands are continuous on the sides, while the white pa.s.s on the sides into the deep ochry-yellow of the upper side; the abdomen has a single row of black spots (at least seven) down the middle, one at the base of each segment, the two nearest the thorax have a whitish spot behind them.

The female of this species brought by Captain Grey has the upper wings more developed; the three interrupted whitish bands are composed, at least the two outer, of three spots, larger than in the female; the little bluish white spots on the deep brown part of the under side of the lower wing are also nearly obsolete; the sides of the body are not fringed as in the male; and the apical tuft is very small indeed.

The most marked character however is the want of the fenestrated diaphanous spot in the upper wing, which being a most prominent characteristic in the examples of this species already recorded, makes it highly probable that they have all been females, and that this is the first time that the male has been alluded to.

The beautifully striated and waved surface of the gla.s.sy spot, taken in connection with the fact of the noise made by the insects possessing it, would seem to indicate that the fenestrated spot must act as a tympanum.

Cossodes lyonetii, new species. Ill.u.s.tration 26 Insects 9.

Wings black, with violet, purple, and green reflections; upper with a longitudinal line, broken by the black of the wing near the base, the other part extending to the tip of the wing, sinuated anteriorly, and elbowed posteriorly; near the posterior margin are two irregular white spots, the upper sub-triangular, the under squareish; on the apical margin are seven whiteish spots, the first very minute, the second largest, the others gradually diminishing towards the long white line where they terminate. The fringe is black, slightly greyish on the edge; the underside of the wing is greyish at the base, and on the inner edge, then violet, the apical portion being of a silky yellowish brown; the lower wings are purplish violet, the outer margin at the base is whitish, the fringe is black at the base, at the end white--the white forming a broader line than the black; beneath it is violet black, and black with a greenish tinge. The thorax and body in the specimen described is rubbed; the latter seems to be blackish green, banded with white. I have seen a species closely resembling the above in Dr. Boisduval's immense collection.

Habitat King George's Sound. Captain George Grey.*

(*Footnote. The Saturnia laplacei, described and figured by the Baron Feisthamel in his description of the Lepidoptera collected on the voyage of the Favorite is synonymous with the Chelepteryx collesi, described by Mr. G.R. Gray in the First Volume of the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London page 122.)

Odonestis elizabetha, new species.