LEPIDOPTERA. 79 



in China, but only of the common sort. It will gratify curiosity, if not prove advan- 

 tageous, should future observers ascertain w^hat kind of insects the Chinese appropriate 

 to making silk, and whether P. Atlas is of the number, as has been conjectured. It is 

 indeed to be observed, that in India several distinct species of Saturnia are known to be 

 employed in the production of silk ; the most important of which are the Tusseh (S. 

 Paphia, Linn.), the Arrindi (S. Cynthia, Drury), and the Kolisurra silk worm of the 

 Dukhun.* 



HELEONA MILITARIS. 



Plate 43. fig. i. 



Family. Arctiid^e ? 



Genus. Heleona, Swains. Zool. Illustr. N. Ser. 116. 



Ch. Sp. H. all's patulis concoloribus luteis apice maculisque violaceis, anticis extus albo-macu- 

 latis. Expans. alar. 3| unc. 

 H. with the wings extended at rest, the anterior and posterior pairs coloured aHke, 

 luteous yellow, with the extremity and spots at the base violet, the anterior with 

 whitish spots at the tips. Expanse of the wings 3.| inches. 



Syn. Phalaena militaris, Linn. Syst. Nat. 2. 811. Fabricius Ent. Syst. 3. 2. p. 416. 



Roesel. Ins. 4. t. f,.f. 3. Cramer. Ins. t. 29. f. B. 



The natural situation of this and some other allied insects is doubtful ; it forms the 

 type of Mr. Swainson's group Heleona, but is considered by that author to belong to the 

 tribe of Sphingides, and family of Zygaeidae (Anthoceridae, Swainson). 



* See the Memoirs of Dr. Roxburgh in the Linneean Transactions, and of Lieut. -Col. W. H. Sykes in the 

 Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society. 



