:i. Troides lydius (Feld.) [<J,?]. 



JJ. Pajiiliu lyilius Felder, /?«> Norma. Lfp. I. p. 9. n. 5. t. .1. f. a (^). b (?) (ISC;")) 



(Halmahera). 

 <J ?. Oriiithiipteni crofsua local form o, Wallace, 7"r. /,in«. .S«c. Lund. XXV. p. 37. sub n. 3 (18Ga) 



(Ternate, cf : Gilolo, ? ). 

 ^ ? . OnilOioj)leia lyJiiis, Oberthiir, ICl. d'Ent. IV. p. 30. n. 4 (187'.!) (Halmahera) ; id., Ami. .!/»». 



n,; Gctmm XV. p. 41)8. ti. 2 (1880) (Ternate). 

 tf ?. Omithojileru prinmuH var. li/diiis. Stauding. & Schatz, /?x«<. ficlimfll. I. p. 4 (1H88) : Fickert, 



Zool. Jahrb. p. 711. t. 20. f . 5 ( ? ) (18H'J) (Halmahera). 

 (J ?. Oniithoplem {Priiimusptera '.) croesiia, Rippon, InDi. Ornitli. text (1889) (p.p.). 

 (J ? . Omilhoplera {Priamoptera) lyclivs, Rippou. I.e. text & plate (1802). 



Some of my readers will be surprised to see that I treat lydius as a distinct 

 species. ]\Iy reasons for doing so are these : — 



The male, of which I have compared five specimens, is alw.ivs di^tinguishahle 

 from croe^tis by the miioh larger green mark in the cell of the forewings below, by 

 the antecellular yellow mark of the hindwiugs below occupying the whole cellule 

 between the costal and subcostal veins and extending beyond the costal vein, its 

 outline being thus quite different to that of croesus, and b}' the subcostal and disco- 

 cellular veins of the hindwiugs below being extremely narrowly black ; in croesus the 

 subcostal and median nervures and the discocellular veinlcts have a black border of 

 almost even breadth. 



The female has all the whitish markings much enlarged, the white being by far 

 the predominant colour; nearly the whole discoidal cells of the fore- and hindwings 

 are whitish ; the whitish markings are much clouded with lilack scales. 



As these differences are constant in about ten specimens of lydius which I could 

 examine, and as there are no intergradations known. I do not see why lydiun must be 

 treated as a subspecies of croesus. 



S. The fiery orange colour of the type-specimen is not constant ; fVcsh 

 .specimens are sometimes less fiery than croesus. The breadth of the costal band 

 of the forewings is also very variable ; in my second specimen this band is broader 

 than in manv examples of O'oes^is ; this individual has some orange scales scattered 

 along the abdominal margin of the forewings, and a .-mall submarginal orange spot 

 upon the upper median nervule. 



J. The amount of white within the discoidal cell of either wing is not quite 

 constant; the two white spots behind the third sulicostal nervule of th<' forewings 

 above are sometimes merged together. 



The orange male from Ternate, caught by Wallace, now in the Hewitson 

 Collection in the British Museum, is mentioned as a form of T. croesus by Kippou, 

 but, although not typical, cleaily belongs to T. h/diiin. 



Huh. Halmahera (2 tj, 3 5); Ternate (1 i in Hewitson coll.). 



Note. — I have endeavoured to find structural differences between T. priamus, 

 croesus, and lydius, but did not meet with much success. The feniide of lydius is 

 somewhat different in scaling fiom croesus and prii nuns; the black scales with which 

 the white spots on the upperside of the forewings are clouded are of normal form, 

 being as broad and long as the scales of the black portions of the wing. In croesus 

 and Tpriamim, however, these scales are elongated, often linear, with the apical teeth 

 sometimes obsolete. This difference in scaling seems to me to be worthy of note, as 



