Australian insects

Butterflies and moths are scale winged insects, and are among the giants of the insect world; they can be defined as insects with two pairs of membranous wings well adapted for extended flight, clothed with scales overlapping each other like the slates on the roof of a house, flattened and rounded on the surface of the wings, but more or less hair-like upon the body. The head is usually provided with a tubular proboscis or mouth, that can be curled up like a watch spring when at rest, and is admirably adapted for sucking up the honey from flowers when expanded.

The caterpillars may be smooth and naked, or thickly clothed with spines or hair; with few exceptions they feed upon the foliage or wood of plants: after undergoing a series of moults they either spin a cocoon, bury themselves in the ground, or (if wood borers) close themselves up in the burrow where they undergo a complete metamorphosis. If the larva of a butterfly, the caterpillar attaches itself to a twig by the tip of its tail and casts the larval skin, which slips off, leaving the naked transformed pupa simply enclosed in a stout, close-fitting pupal jacket. Some species of moths appear in such numbers at times that they do a great deal of damage to plant life, and are very serious pests.

Lepidoptera on account of their beauty and size have always been very popular with entomologists, and large numbers have been collected from all parts of the world, so that this is one of the best known orders. Sharp estimates that 50,000 species are described, and every year adds to this long list.

They are divided into two great groups, somewhat artificial, but definable as Rhopalocera, butterflies; and Heterocera, moths.

RHOPALOCERA.
Butterflies.

The typical butterflies are usually slender-bodied insects, with filiform and more or less clubbed antennae, delicate legs, and large richly tinted wings; they fly about in the bright sunlight, visiting flowers and feasting upon the nectar that they find in the blooms. They have large compound eyes so that they can see very well; and the slender tubular mouth is very highly developed in all butterflies. The eggs are laid upon the food plant: the caterpillars are generally more or less elongated, and naked or covered with scattered tubercles rather than hairy; when full grown they attach themselves to the under side of a twig or leaf by the tip of the abdomen. Some groups are furnished with a silken girdle round the middle attached at each end to the leaf or twig; and another section roll themselves up in leaves. They do not form a cocoon, but as the larval skin slips off, it reveals the regular pupal form fitted with a skin-like jacket through which the indistinct lines of the rudimentary wings, legs and antennae can be traced. The pupa may remain in this quiescent state for several months before the butterfly splits the skin and emerges, a perfect, fully developed insect.

As many of our butterflies have an extended range, some of them were originally described from other countries, and when captured here were named as new species; so that a good deal of confusion has existed in the proper identification of some of our common species as to whether they were Australian or only varieties of foreign species. In 1805 Donovan figured some of our commonest species in his “Insects of New Holland.” After Kirby’s “Catalogue of Rhopalocera” was published in 1871, Masters compiled and issued a list of our Australian species. In 1878 Semper published his list of Australian species; and in 1891 Miskin produced his “Catalogue of the Australian Butterflies,” in which he included and described some new species (No. 1, Annals of the Queensland Museum); this remained our working list until Waterhouse published his “Catalogue of the Rhopalocera of Australia” as No. 1 Memoir of the New South Wales Naturalists’ Club 1903. In Waterhouse’s list a great many changes have been made in the genera and species; a number of our well-known names have vanished, with very little explanation; for example, Pieris teutonia, our common white, appears under the name of Belenois java; this is unavoidable to a certain extent in bringing Catalogues up to date, but is very confusing to beginners in the work of classification.

For a list of the writers upon, and references to our butterflies, the student is referred to Waterhouse’s Catalogue.

I am indebted to Messrs. Anderson and Spry for notes on the life histories of some of the southern species described in their “Victorian Butterflies” (Melbourne 1893).

Family 1. Brush-footed Butterflies.
NYMPHALIDAE.

This group comprises a number of large or medium sized butterflies that are known as “Fritillaries,” “Emperors,” “Admirals,” and many other popular names in England, and are generally brightly coloured; many have a very wide range over the world. The fore-legs of both sexes are imperfect, the male with one or two, the female with four or five tarsal joints. The larvae are usually spiny, or clothed with hairy warts; and the pupae are suspended by the tail. Sharp places them in eight sub-families, four of which are well represented in Australia.

The Danainae are brightly coloured butterflies of a general reddish brown tint with blackish markings; the larvae are smooth cylindrical caterpillars with the tips of the body ornamented with a fleshy tail. The Genus Danais contains six species, of which the best known in Eastern Australia is the “Monarch” or “Brown Gypsy,” originally a North American insect but now almost world wide in its range; it is known under at least four names, and though usually figured as Danais archippus, its correct name is Danais menippe. The handsome banded black and cream coloured larva feeds upon the introduced “bladder-weed” (Gomphocarpus fruticosus), and turns into a beautiful pale green pupa with metallic markings. This large, deep reddish brown and black lined butterfly is too well known to require description.

Plate XIX.—LEPIDOPTERA.

Family Pieridae.

This butterfly is now known under the name of Belenois java (Sparrman).]

D. petilia, a much smaller butterfly, has broader white markings on the tip of the fore wings and none round the edges of the hind pair. It has a wide range over Australia, across Asia to Europe. The caterpillar is of a lavender colour and feeds upon the cotton grass; it transforms into a beautiful green chrysalis marked with scattered golden spots and a band of the same colour round the abdomen. D. hamata, a fine pearly blue and black species, is recorded by Olliff from Cape York to as far south as Shoalhaven, N.S.W., but is a rare insect in the south.

Fourteen species of the Genus Euploea are described, of which E. corinna is a mottled black and white species, very abundant in sheltered gullies in N. Queensland, also ranging southward to Sydney. The larva feeds on a creeper (Mandevillia); it is a slender, dull-coloured caterpillar with four pairs of fleshy tentacles on the back. The pupa is suspended to a leaf, and is a rich, bright metallic silver.

The Acraeinae contains a single species, belonging to the typical Genus Acraea, which is found from North Queensland to Sydney. A. andromacha measures 2¾ inches across the wings; is blackish brown; the fore wings are transparent with dull brown markings; the hind pair are opaque, creamy white, edged with brown; it always looks as though badly rubbed. It has a range from New Guinea, Fiji, and Samoa into Australia. The yellowish brown caterpillar clothed with branched fleshy spines, feeds upon the passion vine, and is not uncommon in Sydney gardens.

The Nymphalinae comprise a number of handsome butterflies, which differ from the previous ones in having the cells of both pairs of wings open or imperfectly closed. The larvae are very variable, some being slender hairy caterpillars or armed with spines and tubercles; others are short and cylindrical, furnished with horns upon the head.

The fine East Indian Genus Cethosia is represented by three species: the Crimson-winged Butterfly, C. cydippe, is not an uncommon insect in North Queensland frequenting the clearings on the edge of the scrub; it measures 3½ inches across the large rounded wings, the hind margin of the second pair being deeply scalloped; the central portion of both surrounding the body is bright red, the outer deep purple, with white markings toward the tips of the front pair; and the under surface of both is barred and spotted. Cynthia ada, ranging from Brisbane to Thursday Island, is a large light ochreous yellow butterfly, with a dark line diagonally crossing both wings from the middle of the fore pair to the level of the tip of the body; a double band of crenulated markings encircle the wings; and there are a pair of eye spots on the hind ones. Cupha prosope is the representative of another northern genus ranging from the Richmond River N.S.W. to Thursday Island. It is a medium sized butterfly with dark orange coloured wings, the front pair tipped and edged with black; all the under-surface is pale orange yellow, mottled and barred, with a row of eye spots round the edge of the wings. The Australian Fritillary, Argynnis inconstans, measures about 3 inches across the wings; it is of a uniform dull yellow colour with a double row of black spots along the edge of the wings, with the inner portion covered with an irregular pattern of spots and dashes. It is common along the cleared tracks in the Queensland jungle, and has been recorded from as far south as Hunter River, N.S. Wales. Pyrameis kershawi, figured and described by McCoy from Victoria, is found throughout Australia, and is so closely related to the “Painted Lady,” P. cardui, of Europe, that it was until lately only considered a variety. It measures under 2 inches across the wings; its general colour is dull brown mottled and barred with black and white. The larvae feed upon “everlastings” (Heliochrysum) and the introduced cape weed; they are slender brown creatures covered with black spines, and the chrysalis suspended by the tail is marked with shining golden spots. P. itea, slightly larger than the previous species, has the edges of both pairs of wings scalloped; the fore wings are black, each with three small yellow spots at the tip, and a large elongated patch crossing through the centre, with the inner portions of both pairs bright ferruginous brown, and a row of four small black eyes on the hind wings. The slender spiny caterpillars feed upon the foliage of nettles. The angulated chrysalis is often marked with golden spots. The Genus Junonia contains two common butterflies, one J. villida found all over Australia; it measures about 2 inches across the wings and is of a general brown tint edged with delicate white and grey markings, and ornamented with a pair of eyes on each wing ringed with yellow. It has a curious habit of flying along the track in front of one, settling on the ground, then flitting ahead again. The cylindrical somewhat stout larva is blackish brown, spined behind the head and clothed with fine hairs; it feeds upon rib grass (plantains). The short stout chrysalis is light brown marked with darker spots. J. albi-cincta does not come south of Brisbane; it is about the same size, with the eyes upon the wings smaller, and the hind wings mauve, giving out a bright metallic sheen. The Brown Leaf-winged Butterfly, Doleschallia australis, is nearly 3 inches across the wings, which are elongated and oval in form, with the tip of the hind pair produced into a tail; the upper surface is dull reddish brown with yellow in the centre, while the under surface is greyish brown mottled with wavy lines, with a central larger bar crossing the centre and running out into the tail. It flits about in the undergrowth, a conspicuous insect when on the wing, but the moment it settles and folds its wings over its back, it is lost to sight, for its leaf-like wings, when closed with the tail forming a stalk, so closely resemble the foliage, that while it remains at rest it is very difficult to detect. It ranges from the Richmond River to North Queensland. The Blue-eyed Butterfly, Hypolimnas bolina, ranges from Cape York to Sydney, but is a rare insect about the latter place. It differs in the sexes both in size and markings; the male is rich velvety black; has both wings deeply scalloped, a double white spot towards the tip of each, with a blotch of opaline white in the centre encircled with iridescent violet blue. The play of colour in this beautiful butterfly flashing about in the bright sunlight with its ever changing tints of blue and black, makes it one of our most striking species. The female is somewhat larger; has the central markings on the fore wings more elongated and lighter coloured, with a blotch of fulvous red below it; the hind wings are much whiter in the centre and are only slightly clouded with blue. Neptis shepherdi, ranging from Brisbane to Cape York, has the typical delicate black wings spotted and striped with white. The Tailed Emperor, Charaxes sempronius, is our sole representative of the genus, the home of which is Africa and the East Indies; it is nearly 4 inches across the wings, the inner portions of which are creamy white, the outer edges, tips and margins black, and with a row of creamy spots along the edges and two spots behind. The marginal black edging on the hind wings is broad, shaded on either side with pale blue, which covers the broad scallops in the wings; there are two stout wedge-shaped tails on each hind wing, and a bright reddish-yellow blotch on each inner edge. The larva is a very curious, short, stout, pale green caterpillar, with a slightly forked tail, and four short stout horns on the top of the head; it feeds upon the foliage of the black wattle. This species ranges from Sydney to Derby, N.W. Australia, where I took a specimen upon a baobab tree which is now in the Macleay Museum; Waterhouse gives Cairns, Q., as its northern limit, but this gives it a much extended range.

The Satyrinae are chiefly small butterflies, black, brown, or sometimes white, generally marked with eye spots, and the wings are rounded. The larvae feed upon different grasses, and are smooth or clothed with fine short hair: the head is round; and the body tapers to each extremity, and ends in a forked tail.

The Genus Mycalesis contains five species; they are all reddish-brown butterflies of small size, that flit about in open forest country, of which Mycalesis terminus is a very good type: it measures 1½ inches across its dull, rusty red wings, which are indistinctly marbled, and darkest at the tips; the edges of the hind pair are marked with fine black lines. On each wing are a pair of small eyes, the hind one on each wing being largest; these also show on the under surface, and those on the hind wings are encircled with silvery lines. It is a northern species found along the coast of North Queensland. Tisiphone abeona is a common species in Victoria and on the eastern coast of N.S. Wales, usually found flitting along damp gullies, never flying high or in open country. It measures about 2½ inches across the wings, and is of a uniform dark brown tint: the front wings are ornamented with two eyes, the first smallest; a broad irregular band of yellow bisects the wings about the middle, crossing behind the eyes; the hind wings are plain, with a small eye on the inner margin, and are slightly scalloped round the edges. The delicate green caterpillar has a small rounded head; it is broadest in the centre, tapering to the head and forked anal extremity. It feeds upon the sedges. The chrysalis is of a delicate emerald green tint, with the edges of the wings outlined in yellow. Ypthima arctous ranges from Sydney to Cape York; it is a small, dull brown insect with a very large eye on the tips of the fore wings, and a very small one on the hind pair.

The Genus Heteronympha contains seven species, all of which have a wide range along the coast; the Yellow Wood Nymph, H. merope, being one of the commonest in all open forest country from Tasmania to Brisbane; it is remarkable from the fact that the sexes differ both in size and markings. The male measures 2½ inches across the wings, which are of a general dull tawny yellow colour mottled with black and brown, the fore pair in a scroll-like pattern, the hind ones only barred along the edges and slightly touched with black. The female, ½ an inch broader, has the greater part of the fore wings black, enclosing two yellow patches fading into tawny yellow toward the basal portion, and with a large yellow angular blotch standing out on the posterior sides; each wing in both sexes has a small eye towards the tip. The dull brown larvae feed upon various grasses, and hide close to the roots. The chrysalis is not attached to the food plant, but rests in a frail network on the ground. H. mirifica, found between Sydney and Brisbane, is about the same size as the female of the last species; it also haunts sheltered country. It is of a uniform, blackish brown tint with small eye spots and a broad irregular white stripe across the middle of the fore wings.

The Genus Xenica is peculiar to Australia; it contains nine species, four of which are confined to Tasmania, several being found only on the higher portion of the mountain ranges. They are all small, tawny yellow or reddish brown butterflies of small size, spotted and mottled with brown, and have small eyes upon the tips of the wings. Xenica achanta, one of the largest, measures about 2 inches across the wings, and is of a uniform dark orange yellow, with the apical portion of the fore wings marbled with dark brown; the hind pair are regularly mottled all over; and the margins of both are edged with two fine black lines; it ranges from S. Australia to Queensland. Several smaller species have been described from the Australian Alps. X. correae, described by Olliff from Mt. Kosciusko, feeds upon the native fuschia: X. fulva, also described by Olliff, is the male of this species.

Family 2. Horned Butterflies.
LIBYTHEIDAE.

This family contains only a single genus, representatives of which are found scattered over all the warmer parts of the world, but the largest and most brightly coloured forms are found in New Guinea. They are remarkable for the formation of the palpi, which, standing out in front like a beak, are four times the length of the head; the wings are angulated, and the pupa hangs by the tip of the abdomen. One species, Libythea nicevillei, ranging from Port Moresby across to Cape York, represents the family in Australia.

This group appears to form a connecting link between the Nymphalidae on the one hand, and the Lycaenidae on the other.

Family 3. The Blues.
LYCAENIDAE.

The “blues,” “coppers,” or “hair-streaks” are so named on account of their rich colourations or wavy markings on the under side of the wings. Though often passed over by the ordinary collector because of their small size, they are much sought after by lepidopterists for their beauty and bright metallic tints. Their bodies are slender, and the wings somewhat fragile; though they can fly well, they usually prefer to flit about the bushes and sheltered gullies, and when they settle have the habit of folding their wings in an erect position above the body, so that unless disturbed they are not very noticeable. The prevailing colours are metallic blue, or coppery red, with eyes upon the wings in some groups, while others are ornamented with dainty feathery tails, or lobes upon the hind wings. The colours and markings of the sexes often differ in the same species on the upper surface, but always correspond on the under-side. The legs are more developed than in the Nymphalidae, the tarsi of the male somewhat aborted, but that of the female complete. The larvae are curious, short, slug-like, greasy grubs, dull brown or green; some of them are gregarious, clinging to the twigs by day and feeding at night. The pupae are attached to the twig by the tip of the abdomen and girthed with a silken thread round the middle.

In Miskin’s Catalogue 110 species were given under 18 genera; in Waterhouse’s list 114 species are recorded, divided into 31 genera. Waterhouse has monographed this family, where descriptions of all the known Australian species will be found (Pro. Linn. Soc. N.S.W. 1902–1903). A number are rare and restricted in their range, and many are confined to the rich tropical scrubs of North Queensland. The Genus Danis contains six species, most of which are confined to North Queensland; Danis taygetus is a very distinctive little butterfly, common in the Queensland scrubs, and extending as far south as the Richmond River, N.S.W. The male has the fore wings pale violet blue, with the centre of the hind ones white, the edges of both pairs black; in the female both pairs are marked with white with a faint shade of blue; on the under surface the centres of the wings are white edged with black, with a broad band of bright metallic blue occupying the lower half of the hind pair encircling a row of black spots. The Genus Miletus contains fifteen species: M. delicia has the upper surface brownish black, with the base of the fore and centre of hind wings pale metallic blue; the under side is dull yellowish brown, variegated with angulated blotches or spots forming bands round the wings and a parallel stripe across the front of the fore pair. This butterfly ranges from Victoria to Queensland. M. ignita has a very wide range over the southern parts of Australia into Queensland; it was figured and described by Leach in 1817. Candalides absimilis is a medium sized insect; the male has the upper surface dull blue with the edges fringed with white; the female is dark brown with an oval patch of white in the centre of both wings and metallic tints round the body; the under surface is pale bluish white marked with fine wavy lines round the wings. It is found from Victoria well into Northern Queensland. Polyommatus boeticus has had many names, for not only has it a very wide distribution over Australia, but it extends over Asia, Africa, and Europe. It is of a uniform brown tint; has the centre of both wings shaded with pale metallic blue; the hind one terminates in a fine slender tail, with two eye spots at the base; the under side is creamy white with slate grey lines and eye spots touched with blue.

Plate XX.—LEPIDOPTERA.

Family Pieridae.

1. Terias hecabe (Fabr.).

Family Papilionidae.

2. Papilio sthenelus (Macl.).

Family Nymphalidae.

Family Hesperidae.

4. Trepezites symmomous (Hubn.).

Family Lycaenidae.

8. Chrysophanus aenea (Miskin).

Lucia lucanus, one of the smaller forms, has all the upper surface of a dull ochreous tint, with the centres of the fore wings pale yellow. A fine fringe of hair-like scales of alternate tufts of black and white gives it a delicate pencilled appearance; the under surface is mottled and brownish, the white of the fore wings showing through. It has a wide range from South Australia to Mackay, Queensland, and is common about Sydney. L. pyrodiscus has the upper surface black, with the centre of the fore wings and the greater part of the hind ones dull red. The whole of the under surface is purplish and finely marbled with a very fine tail on the outer edge of the hind pair. It ranges from Victoria to N. Queensland.

The Genus Ogyris contains eleven species, most of which are recorded from the southern portion of Australia. Ogyris abrota has the upper surface dark brown with a patch of pale metallic green in the centre of each fore wing; the hind pair are all brown and scalloped along the edges; the under side is pale creamy white mottled with wavy lines. The larva feeds upon the foliage of Loranthus; it measures about an inch in length; is of a uniform dark yellowish brown, with the upper surface rough, clothed with fine bristles; they feed at night, and pupate in the usual manner of all members of this family.

The Genus Ialmenus contains eight species, among them several of our best known “Blues”: Ialmenus evagorus ranges from South Australia into Southern Queensland, and was figured by Donovan in his “Insects of New Holland” in 1805. It is described by Olliff under the name of the “Imperial Blue,” but I would suggest that the “Black-wattle Blue” would be a much more distinctive name, for all along the coast the short, dull green, slug-like grubs may be met with, congregated in little groups clinging to the twigs of this wattle. Hundreds of ants are always swarming over them attracted by the secretion they discharge from glands on the back.

The presence of ants is probably of great value to the larvae, for they keep parasitic insects and birds from molesting them. When full grown they sling themselves to the twigs to pupate, and are often so numerous that the branches are covered with pupae hanging like bunches of grapes. The butterfly measures nearly 2 inches across the wings, which on the upper surface are black on the margin, with the rest pale metallic blue shading into white in the centre; the hind pair are scalloped and produced into fine feathery tails with spots of dark orange yellow at the base; the under side is pearly grey, banded and spotted with black. I. ictinus, with identical habits, about the same size, takes the place of this species in the inland districts. Pseudalmenus myrsilus is a handsome little butterfly with the centres of the wings deep orange divided with dark nervures, and the hind pair with long black tails; it is found from Tasmania to the southern districts of N.S. Wales. The last species of this family, Liphyra brassolis, is only found in North Queensland; its larvae live and pupate in the arboreal nests of the “Green Tree-ants.” An interesting account of the life history of this butterfly is given by Dodd in the “Entomologist” 1902.

Family 4. The Whites and Yellows.
PIERIDAE.

The members of this family are popularly known as “Whites” and “Yellows” on account of their prevailing colours. Both sexes have six perfect legs, and are butterflies of moderate size, with the hind wings rarely crenulated or produced into tails. Their larvae are slender, hairy caterpillars with small heads, and are often gregarious in their habits; the pupae are sharply angulated to each extremity, attached both by the tail, and a silken girdle round the body of their food plant.

In Miskin’s Catalogue 34 species are listed, contained in 7 genera; Waterhouse reduces them to 31 species, and discards several well-known genera.

The Genus Terias contains all the small “Yellows,” which are low flitting, dainty, little butterflies found in the tropical jungle, but equally at home in the far western scrubs and open forest land. Terias smilax, our smallest species, is common about Sydney, and has a wide range both north and south from Adelaide to Rockhampton. It is bright yellow, with the black markings in the fore wings extending to the tips of the hind pair. The Mottled Yellow, T. hecabe, is much larger than the last; is of a bright yellow colour with the black markings coming round to the edge of the hind wing and swelling out into a rounded patch; the hind wings are lightly edged with black, and on the under side are thickly mottled with yellowish brown spots. It extends from Sydney to Queensland, and has a wide range out northward and eastward among the islands.

The Genus Elodina contains several small, pearly white butterflies, with wings edged with black. The small white, Elodina angulipennis, is found about Sydney, ranging as far north as Mackay, Queensland. Our common white butterfly known under the name of Pieris teutonia, and the sole representative of that well defined genus, has been recently identified as Belenois java, and as Sparrman described it some few years before Fabricius, this well-known name will unfortunately have to give way. This butterfly has a wide range over Australia, especially in the interior, where several native shrubs belonging to the Capparidae are plentiful; upon these the slender brown and yellow caterpillars feed. This is the species that sometimes comes flying over the eastern coast in immense swarms. It measures 2½ inches across the wings, and is black and white on the upper surface, with the under portion more mottled with black and canary yellow. It ranges from Australia to Fiji, Tonga, and the Malay Archipelago. The smaller Whites, which have the under side of the hind wings of a more uniform yellow tint, are represented by Appias (Tachyris) ega, first described by Boisduval in 1836; it has an extended range from Victoria to Cape York, Queensland.

The typical Genus Delias is represented in Australia by 8 species, three of which can be collected from Sydney to Cape York, and two others from South Australia northward. The Painted Delias, D. harpalyce, first figured by Donovan in 1805, measures 3 inches across the wings, which on the upper surface are creamy white, broadly margined on the apical half with black, the fore pair banded with a row of white spots; on the under surface the white markings above are much broader, and the hind wings are blotched with a bright red band surrounded with black but lined with white. The larvae feed upon the native mistletoe (Loranthus) which grows upon the she-oaks, and are slender, dark coloured caterpillars covered with fine hairs. They are gregarious in their habits, often 20 to 30 in a family, and not only do they keep together when feeding, but they spin a curious web over the denuded twigs of their food plant to which they attach themselves when pupating. The pupa is dark brown, slightly over 1 inch in length, armed with short black spines along the sides of the body, and the front of the head is furnished with a curious two-pronged fork.

The Tinted Delias, D. argenthona, is a Queensland species, with the outer half of the hind wings on the under surface black, enclosing a number of bright red blotches; while on the hind wings of the Striped Delias, D. mysis, the red forms a continuous broad curved band round the tips. In the Yellow-tinted Delias, D. aganippe, the wings of the male on the upper surface are creamy white, while those of the female are tinged with yellow, and the black extends further into the wing; on the under surface both sexes have the wings blackish, mottled with large white blotches, and yellow markings; a patch of bright red on the shoulders; and with a row of rounded spots of the same colour running round the hind wings. The larvae feed upon the foliage of Loranthus. The Dusky Delias, D. nigrina, generally flies high, and is not so easily caught; it has an extended range from Sydney to North Queensland; the upper surface is of the usual colour, but the whole of the under surface of the wings is dull black washed with grey; there is a band of yellow on the fore pair, and the hind pair is marked with the same colour and a horse-shoe band of red. The larvae when full grown are almost black spotted with yellow, and with fine white hairs; they are gregarious and also feed upon the Loranthus.

Catopsilia (Callidyras) pomona is a large light butterfly, with the upper surface creamy white tinged with yellow, and with dusky spots toward the tips of the wings; all the under surface is dull yellow, with a few white spots, and with pale purple markings, forming a darker patch in the centre of each wing. It is found from Sydney northward through the Malay Peninsula, and into Ceylon.

Family 5. Swallow Tails.
PAPILIONIDAE.

The members of this group of butterflies are popularly known as “Swallow Tails” from the peculiar structure of the hind wings of the typical species, which are produced at the tips into spatulate lobes or tails; though in a large number these tails are wanting. They are all furnished with well developed legs; antennae distinctly clubbed; and the pupae are attached both by the tip of the body and a silken girdle. In this family many of the largest and most beautiful insects in the world are congregated.

The Bird-winged Butterflies (Ornithoptera) are represented by three more or less distinct species from the mainland, and a fourth from Darnley Island. O. richmondia, typical of the group, is the southern form, ranging from the Richmond River, N.S.W., into Southern Queensland. The smaller male measures about 6 inches across the wings, which are rich velvety black, with a bright green stripe along the front of the fore wings; the whole of the body is golden; and the hind wings except the black margins and four black spots are of a slightly brighter tint. The large female is of a uniform dark blackish brown with white markings on the wings. O. (cassandra) euphorion, found from Mackay to Cairns, N.Q., is somewhat larger, with a second stripe of green on the fore wings, and a row of golden spots on the hind pair. The large black caterpillars have short black fleshy spines along the sides of the body, with the front ones bright red.

Rippon has recently monographed the Ornithoptera, and places our species in the Genus Troides, but I prefer to retain the original name, under which our species are so well known. The Genus Papilio contains 18 species in Miskin’s Catalogue, reduced to 15 in Waterhouse’s list, many of them with a very wide range. Papilio sarpedon is common in Sydney gardens, and extends away up the coast to India and Ceylon. Olliff called it the “Wanderer” from its rapid restless flight. It is of a general black colour, with sharp angular fore wings, and rounded crenulated hind wings coming to a blunt finger-like tail at the tips. The centre of both pairs of wings is pale green forming a broad elongate stripe, widest in the centre, and with a row of fine crescent-shaped spots down the sides of the hind pair. The larvae are short, green, slug-like creatures with a patch of yellow on the back; they feed upon the foliage of the camphor laurel.

The Black Orchard Butterfly, Papilio erectheus (now known as P. aegeus), is a larger black insect with an irregular band of white crossing the tips of the fore wings; the centre of each hind one is occupied by a rounded mauve patch; the edges are crenulated, tipped with white, and have a red eye-like spot on the inner margin. The female is much larger; has the inner portion of the fore wings black, but the outer portions dusky white; the hind wings are black at the base, banded with white shaded with black, and have a row of red spots round the margins. The mottled orange green larva is furnished with a broad head, from which shoot out a pair of retractile fleshy horns when touched, at the same time giving off a musky scent. They feed upon the foliage of orange trees, and when numerous are a nuisance in the plant nurseries. The larvae of Macleay’s butterfly (Papilio macleayanus) feed upon the foliage of the Sassafras in the Illawarra district, and range from Tasmania to Cairns N.Q. The butterfly is somewhat after the same slender shape as P. sarpedon, but has the hind wings produced into slender swallow tails. The portion of the wings surrounding the body is pale green, the outer parts black, with three small green patches toward the front of the fore pair, and a row of small spots along the lower edges of the hind pair.

The Imperial Swallow Tail, Papilio ulysses, measures 5 inches across the wings, which are rich metallic blue margined with deep velvety black, and are produced into long swallow tails behind. It is found in the tropical scrubs of North Queensland ranging up into the Malay Archipelago, and for shape and colour is one of the most beautiful butterflies in the world, but should be seen in its native haunts to fully admire its beauty as it goes floating through the tropical brushes.

Plate XXI.—LEPIDOPTERA.

Family Nymphalidae.

(Original photo. Burton.)]

The last of this genus I shall notice is the very distinct yellow and black butterfly, Papilio sthenelus, which has a wide range from South Australia to Queensland, and is one of the very few large butterflies found far inland. The Painted Gauzewing, Eurycus cressida, is a rare species in N.S. Wales, though recorded from as far south as Sydney, but is abundant in the tropical northern scrubs. The male has the fore wings denuded of scales and semitransparent, with the shoulders and two spots in the front black; the hind ones are black mottled with white and red, the latter colour also on the sides of the thorax and tip of the abdomen. The female is smaller, of a dull brown colour, with semitransparent wings, looking very much like a small rubbed specimen of the male; the amateur collector generally discards them under that impression.

Family 6. Skippers.
HESPERIDAE.

These butterflies are popularly known as “Skippers” on account of the peculiar way they fly, so different from all the other groups. They have broad, short, thickset heads and bodies; and the antennae, wide apart at the base, are produced at the tip into an irregular club or pointed hooked process. The legs are perfect in both sexes and often spined; most of them are brown or reddish yellow, more or less variegated. The larvae are long, cylindrical, naked caterpillars, with the head hard and horny; the prothorax narrow, forming a regular neck. When full grown they attach themselves by the tail to the leaf, which they roll round themselves into a primitive kind of cocoon.

Messrs. Meyrick and Lower have lately revised this group (Trans. Roy. Soc. S.A. 1902), and list 79 species that they identify, and note a number of others that are so badly described that they cannot be determined.

Netrocoryne repanda, one of our largest species, of a uniform light brown tint, has the tips of the wings darkest, the centres of the fore pair marked with large translucent blotches of a pale yellow tint, and a single spot in each hind one. It has an extended range from Sydney to N. Queensland.

The Genus Hesperilla contains 31 species, some of which are very local, while others have a very wide range: H. picta is about 2 inches across the wings; its general colour is dark brown with a dull greenish tint on the body, ornamented with five yellow spots on the fore wing; the centres of the hind ones and the hind margins of the same yellow colour, and with the markings on the under surface more numerous. H. ornata is a smaller species, of a general dark brown; the fore wings carry a number of spots and four angular golden yellow blotches; the hind pair are reddish orange mottled on the under surface of the body, the tips of the fore and the whole of the hind wings with pale yellow. It has an extended range from Victoria up to Cooktown N.Q. Trapezites iacchus, one of our commonest species, described by Fabricius in 1775, measures 1¾ inches in length, and is of a uniform, dull brown colour shaded with yellow; the fore wings are blotched with small irregular marks; those on the hind pair are parallel and confluent. The under surface is dull yellow; the fore wings are mottled and the hind ones marked with four to five small purple spots ringed with black. It has a wide range from Tasmania over Australia. T. symmomus is a darker, larger species very similar in the markings, only the yellow spots are more defined. It does not range further north than Brisbane.

Apaustus lascivia is one of the small dull brown skippers washed with yellow, with pale slender transverse bars crossing the centre of the wings; the body is marked with white; the under surface is dull yellow, with the tips of the fore wings darkest. The larvae of Pamphila augiades, another common species in the Sydney gardens, and found as far north as Bowen, Queensland, feeds upon the foliage of young palms; that of Erynnis sperthias is found on the same plant.

Badamia exclamationis is a light brown species with the fore wings narrowed to the extremities, and the hind pair arcuate on the edges. It measures 2 inches across the wings, and ranges from Sydney to Cape York. In the Genus Hasora we have several large skippers, all northern species, with the upper surface dark; the under surface richly marked with purple and pale golden yellow in H. discolor; and with simple silvery stripes on the under surface in H. hurama.