BY G. A. WATERHOUSE. 13^ 



visited by earlier collectors and the present location of their 

 types. 



I have availed myself very extensively of the writings of 

 Messrs. L. de JSTiceville and PI. H. Druce ; indeed, the bulk of 

 the generic alterations I have made in this paper, are taken from 

 letters received by Mr. R. E. Turner and myself from the former 

 gentleman, who, had he lived, would have undertaken the revision 

 of the Australian Rhopalocera, based on the extensive material 

 sent him by Mr. Turner and myself. 



With reference to the limits for which I propose to use the 

 term Australian, I have adopted the present political boundaries 

 of the Australian States. This presents no difficulty, except with 

 regard to the islands in Torres Straits, where the political bound- 

 ary of Queensland extendi to within a few miles of the New 

 Guinea coast. But though the northern islands possess a fauna 

 allied to that of New Guinea rather than to that of Australia, 

 it is impossible to draw any but the political line, unless we 

 exclude Torres Straits entirely, which would l)e unwise, as the 

 group around Thursday Island belongs exclusively to Australia. 

 There is no deep sea strait between Australia and New Guinea, 

 and Profs. Haddon, Sollas and Cole"^ have shown that geologi- 

 cally these islands belong to Australia. For my present purpose, 

 however, this question does not apply to any great extent, for, 

 exclusive of Thursday Island, the only collection from Torres 

 Straits is that from Darnley Island in the Maclea}^ Museum, and 

 that is included in the present Part. 



I have purposely refrained from describing any new genera, 

 though I have indicated one or two cases in which such are prob- 

 ably necessary. This is a work that can better be undertaken 

 by competent entomologists outside Australia, who have access 

 to general collections, rather than by one working on a restricted 

 area, for most of our genera are identical with Indian forms, and 

 some with African. The question of the description and 

 determination of Australian species can best be solved in Aus- 



* Trans. Irish Acad. xxx. Pt. xi. 1894. 



