Part 18

The African species of Hesperiidæ (according to Mr. Smeathman), including those represented in these and the two following figures, sport in the sun, and are remarkable for their very sudden and rapid short flights from bush to bush.

HESPERIA (EUDAMUS) ORION.

Plate XVII. fig. 3, 4.

ORDER: Lepidoptera. SECTION: Diurna. FAMILY: Hesperiidæ.

GENUS. HESPERIA, Latr. Fabr. Thymele P. Fabr. (syst. Gl.) Heteropterus, Duméril. SUBGENUS: Eudamus, Swains. Boisd.

HESPERIA (EUDAMUS) ORION. Alis nigro fuscis, anticis fasciâ tenui maculari subbifidâ punctisque subapicalibus; posticarum limbo externo caudisque albis. (Expans. Alar. 2 unc.)

SYN. Papilio Orion, Fabr. Mant. Ins. 2. p. 85. No. 774. Cramer, pl. 155. f. A. B. Drury, App. vol. 3.

Papilio (Pleb. Urb.) Proteus, var. [Greek: b]. Linn. Mus. Lud. Ulr. p. 333. Enc. Méth. ix. p. 729. No. 4. (Hesp. O.)

Eudamus Doryssus, Swains. Zool. Illustr. N. Ser. pl. 48.

HABITAT: Sierra Leone (Drury, correctly?). Brazil, Surinam (Fabr. Enc. Méth. &c.).

Upper Side. Antennæ black. Thorax, abdomen, and wings dark olive brown. Anterior wings having a small narrow transparent white line crossing them from the anterior edges to the lower corners, {24}intersected by the brown tendons of the wings. Posterior wings terminating in two white, short, and broad tails.

Under Side. Palpi white. Breast, abdomen, and wings coloured as on the upper side; the posterior differing merely in having their outward edges bordered with white.

This insect belongs to the subgenus Eudamus proposed by Mr. Swainson, in the new series of his beautiful Zoological Illustrations, and appears in no respect to differ from that which he has figured under the name of Eudamus Doryssus. He observes that the type of this group is the Hesperia Proteus Fabr.; that all the species, of which there are nearly thirty, are from America; that their flight is exceedingly rapid in the morning and evening, and that they rest with their wings perpendicular. Drury, on the other hand, gives Sierra Leone as the habitat, and adds, moreover, on the authority of Mr. Smeathman, that this species, like the last, sports in the sun, and is remarkable for the very rapid short flights it takes from bush to bush, so as to be caught with great difficulty. In his manuscripts, however, I find this species marked as being from "Madras, Mr. Skeene, 1772."

NYMPHALIS JANAIS.

Plate XVII. fig. 5, 6.

ORDER: Lepidoptera. SECTION: Diurua. FAMILY: Nymphalidæ, Swains.

GENUS. NYMPHALIS, Latr. God. Papilio (Nymphalis), Fabr.

NYMPHALIS JANAIS. Alis subdentatis, nigris; anticis utrinque albo-punctatis; posticis supra disco rubro, subtus basi flavo et nigro, punctato. (Expans. Alar. 2 unc. 3 lin.)

SYN. Papilio (Nymph. Phal.) Janais, Drury, App. vol. 3.

Nymphalis J., Latr. et God. Enc. Méth. ix. p. 392. No. 146.

HABITAT: "Sierra Leone" (Drury, in text). "Rio Janeiro, Mr. Bonifas, 1776" (Drury's MSS.).

Upper Side. Antennæ, thorax, abdomen, and anterior wings black, the latter with a number of small white spots dispersed over different parts of the wings. Posterior wings black; the middle part fine carmine red, the scolloping next the abdominal corners being verged with white.

Under Side. Palpi black. Legs brown. Breast and abdomen black. Anterior wings coloured as on the upper side. Posterior wings as on the upper side, but next the body having a large patch of a yellow colour, on which are several small black spots. The red part of these wings is surrounded by a row of small white spots, placed on the black ground.

PLATE XVIII.

ACRÆA UMBRA.

Plate XVIII. fig. 1, 2.

ORDER: Lepidoptera. SECTION: Diurna. FAMILY: Heliconiidæ.

GENUS. ACRÆA, Fabr. Latr. God. Papilio (Heliconii), Fabr. olim.