10 HAUSTELLATA. — LEPIDOPTERA. 



thereon. By some persons their sudden increase has been attri- 

 buted to the previous failure of their natural enemies, the Ichneu- 

 mons and the soft-billed birds— by others to an increased tem- 

 perature; others again suppose that their eggs lie dormant till 

 called into life and vigour by some extraordinary latent coinci- 

 dences. But all these opinions are mere conjecture, and they do 

 not sufficiently clear up the difficulty ; which is rendered more ob- 

 scure from the fact that several of the insects, especially Cynthia 

 Cardui, appear constantly in some parts, and periodically in others. 

 The Coliades are particularly gay and showy insects ; they are emi- 

 nently distinguished by the brilliant tints of orange and yellow 

 with which their wings are adorned : thev are of moderate size, 

 and usually appear in their final state towards the autumn. 



Sp, 1. Europome. Plate I. * f. 1, ^ — f. 2, 3, ? .—AUs siiprd 

 sulphur eo-flavis, limbo communi nigro (in fcem.^avo maculato) ; 

 anticis' ntrinque puncto medio nigro infra ocellari, posticis sitbtiin 

 puncto sesqiiialtero argenteo. (Exp. alar. 2 unc. — 2 unc. 2 lin.) 



Papilio Europome. Haicorth. — Co. Europom.e. Steph. Catal. 



Both srxes of this fine insect— which greatly resembles Co. Philodoce (a Virgi- 

 nian species) — are of a fine sulphureous yellow above: the male has the 

 hinder margins of both wings deeply edged with blacky an ovate spot of 

 that colour on the disc of the anterior, and an obsolete fulvous spot on that 

 of the posterior ; the border on the latter is irregularly sinuated within : 

 beneath the anterior wings are paler, with the tips rather deeper, the 

 discoidal spot is whiter, with a black or dusky iris; and parallel with the 

 hinder margin is a very obsolete row of dusky spots : the posterior wings 

 are of a deeper yellow, minutely irrorated Avith black, with a discoidal 

 silvery ocellus, having a fulvescent iris, and a secondary silver spot adjacent ; 

 they have also an obsolete row of dusky spots parallel with the hinder margin, 

 and forming a continuous series with those of the anterior wings, and a larger 

 somewhat triangular fulvescent spot on the upper edge. The female differs 

 in having the black border of the hinder margin of the anterior wings irre- ' 

 gularly spotted with yellow, and in wanting the border to the posterior wings, 

 having in its place some obsolete subtriangular dusky spots. Both sexes 

 have the extreme edge, both above and below, and the cilia, rose colour. 



Very few British cabinets contain this interesting species, which, 

 till last summer, does not appear to have been captured in England 

 for upv/ards of forty years. I have hitherto seen but five speci- 

 mens, four of which were in the rich collection of the late Mr. 

 Francillon, and one in that of the late Mr. Marsham : of these I 

 have been fortunate enough to obtain three, two males and a 



