Zoological Society. 305 



At one place where the birds were numerous we observed that the 

 young shoots of a legummous shrub growing by the banks of a river 

 were all nipped off, and this was said by our pilot, who had fre- 

 quented these places for many years in a whaling vessel, to be the 

 work of the Kakapo. 



Their flesh is white, and is generally esteemed good eating. 



March 23, 1852.— Professor Owen, F.R.S., Vice-President, 

 in the Chair. 



On the Species of the Genus Sericinus. 

 By G. R. Gray, F.L.S., F.Z.S. etc. 



In the Transactions of the Entomological Society of London for 

 1851 (p. 173), Mr. Westwood established a Lepidopterous genus 

 under the name of Sericinus, which he founded on bad specimens of 

 an insect sent from Shanghai by Mr. R. Fortune, and then supposed 

 to comprise "both sexes" of the insect figured by Donovan in his 

 * Insects of China,' pi. 27. f. 1, under the appellation of Papilio 

 Telamon, no specimen of which, as Mr. Westwood justly observed, 

 was then known to exist *' in any continental or British collections.*' 



Lately Mr. Fortune has returned to this country, bringing with 

 him many specimens of the same insect in a more perfect state, which 

 enables me to take up the genus and endeavour to define the species 

 and give characters for each. I should state, however, that I think 

 I shall be able to point out that these " two sexes " are, in fact, 

 distinct species of the genus. 



I think it best, first, to give a description of the species figured by 

 Donovan under the name of Papilio Telamoriy but which will now 

 stand under that of 



Sericinus Telamon, Westw. 



The fore wings yellowish white, with the anterior and most of the 

 exterior margins rather broadly edged with black ; an abbreviated 

 line in the middle, another at the anterior part of the costal area, 

 and then a curved line of irregular spots, which ends towards the 

 posterior angle, and with two small spots at the anterior angle near 

 the outer margin, also one spot on the inner margin, black. The 

 hind wings yellowish white, with the anal angle black, which appa- 

 rently extends towards the anterior margin by two oblong spots of 

 the same colour ; the anal angle is ornamented by a crimson line 

 that reaches to the third nervure from the inner margin ; there are 

 also three pale blue lunes. The under surface of the fore wings is 

 very similar to the upper side, except that the black which surrounds 

 the anterior and part of the exterior margins is not apparent. The 

 under surface of the hind wings is also similar to the upper side, 

 except that the spot of the anterior margin is ornamented by a crim- 

 son centre. 



Donovan informs us that the only specimen brought to Europe 

 was taken near Pekin, by a gentleman in the suite of Earl Macart- 



Ann. i^^ Mag. N. Hist. Ser. 2. Vol. xiv. 20 



