NOTES AND EXHIBITS. 119 



The following ''Note on Danais Chrysippus (L.), and B. 

 Petilia (Sfcoll);' was read on behalf of Mr. W. H. Miskin of 

 Brisbane : — 



• "In a note in the Proceedings of this Society for 1887 (p. 1076), 

 Mr. George Masters offers some remarks upon these two (so-called) 

 species, the conclusion of which appears to be that, in his 

 opinion, they are distinct species and both occur in Australia. 

 Mr. Masters in his article quotes me as 'boldly asserting that 

 these insects are one and the same species.' I presume he refers 

 to some observations of mine published in the Proceedings of the 

 Entomological Society of London for 1874 (p. 244), wherein I 

 certainly used the words attributed to me, but explained that in 

 my opinion Petilia was the Australian form of Chrysippus, and 

 gave some reasons for my belief. I still hold the same view, that 

 is to say, that we have one form in Australia, varying to some 

 slight extent in individuals, but tolerably constant in the 

 peculiarities that seem to distinguish it from the typical species, 

 which 1 will hereafter enumerate; and as our insect, to my mind, 

 is almost exactly represented by Stoll's figure, and is sufficiently 

 stable in its characters to entitle it to rank as a good local variety, 

 the name Petilia, it is advisable, should be retained for it. I regret 

 that I am unable to refer to Godart's description, the only one 

 given of it. I have collected our insect along almost the entire 

 Queensland eastern seaboard for the last twenty years in abund- 

 ance, it being a tolerably common species, and have never seen an 

 example that could be mistaken for the typical Chrysippus, or that 

 could, as I have said before, fail to be identified with Stoll's figure. 

 My acquaintance with Chrysippus is derived from examples 

 of that species in my collection from Egypt, W. and S. Africa, 

 Mauritius, and Ceylon; and I have before me figures and descrip- 

 tions in Moore's ' Lep. of Ceylon,' Distant's ' Rhop. Malayana,' 

 and Marshall and De Niceville's ' Butterflies of India,' &c. I 

 have also examined Cramer's figure. I distinguish Petilia from 

 Chrysippus by the following peculiarities : the much paler hue 

 of the ground-colour, wider black apical area of primaries 

 extending quite to hinder angle and therefrom a short distance 



