500 



NATURAL HISTORY OF ARTHROPODS. 



found in Amboina, and others of the East India islands, extending in modified forms 

 or varieties to Australia. Closely related species, distinguished by the same bril- 

 liancy of color, are peculiar to the Molucca Islands. The butterflies of which P. 

 rhetenor and P. protenor, are representative examples, are remarkable for the great 

 prolongation of the hind wings, which are narrow, deeply indented, sometimes with 

 long tails, and strongly marked with blood-red spots on the margins. They are, for 

 the most part, very large and showy insects, and are natives of the northern portion 

 of India, as well as of China and Japan. A species from the latter country, P. alci- 

 nous, is remarkable for the color of the female, Avhich is fawn drab, with orange mark- 

 ings, while the male is black, with red markings on the margin. 



The various portions of Australia cannot be said to be rich in the species of Papiiio, 

 only seventeen species having as yet been recorded from that continent, but five of 

 which seem to be peculiar to it, the remainder being stragglers from the East Indian 

 and Malayan regions. One of the remarkable forms is P. erectheus, a large and 



FIG. 626. Papiiio alcinous. 



showy species, in which the sexes differ considerably, the male being black in ground 

 color, while the female is brownish white, with Avide black borders, marked with 

 orange dashes and spots. It is a very common insect in the warmer parts of Australia, 

 and is frequently seen flying in the streets of Sydney, the caterpillar being at times 

 very destructive to orange plantations. 



P. sarpedon, with its wings profusely marked with bright blue green, is a very 

 striking object in the gardens and plantations of New Holland, and is one of the 

 species delighting in almost perpetual flight, selecting some open sunny space, and 

 traversing this backwards and forwards for hours with singular pertinacity, rarely 

 alighting, or, if so, only for a moment, arising again at the slightest disturbance, and 

 gliding rather than flying over the spot it has selected for its playground. It is 

 a widely distributed species, reaching throughout India to China and Japan. 



Europe claims but four species of Papiiio : viz. P. machaon, P. podoMrius^ P. 

 alexanor, and P. hospiton. The first named of these is the most common, and is 

 found in some portions of Germany and France in considerable numbers. Its cater- 



