186 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



" VICTORIAN BUTTERFLIES." 



It is with great pleasure we welcome the first part (80 pp.) of 

 what promises to be an excellent popular handbook on the 

 Victorian Rhopalocera, which will be completed by the early 

 issue of a second part. The authors, Messrs. E. Anderson and 

 F. Spry, are to be congratulated on the clear yet concise descrip- 

 tions of the 26 species mentioned, each of which is excellently 

 figured. Besides the description of the perfect insect, wherever 

 possible notes of the larvse, food plants and habits are included, 

 thus adding greatly to the value of the work from an entomo- 

 logical point of view. In order to meet the wants of beginners 

 it commences with a brief introductory chapter on collecting and 

 preserving insects, more especially butterflies. The illustrations 

 are a great feature in the book, having been produced in 

 excellent style and, so far as we can find, with few errors — the 

 drawing of the female of Delias harpalyce being perhaps the 

 most questionable, while that of Epinephile abeona hardly 

 conveys to the reader the richness of its darker markings. In 

 many cases both male and female insect is figured, and a large 

 number of the larvae and chrysalides are delineated for the 

 first time. The spelling " kershawii" differs from that of 

 Prof. M'Coy in the Prodromus — viz., " kershaioi." Another 

 excellent feature is the addition of an English name for each 

 species, which, if their adoption can be made universal will do 

 much to popularize this group of insects among the young people 

 of Victoria. The part is well indexed, though the addition of a 

 systematic list similar to that published in the Victorian 

 Naturalist for December, 1892, would have increased the use- 

 fulness of the book, though perhaps the authors intend to 

 include it on the completion of the second part. The printing 

 of the book leaves nothing to be desired, and we trust this little 

 work may be the forerunner of many other handbooks on the 

 different departments of Victorian Zoology, for which there is 

 much need. 



A New Victorian Butterfly. — A butterfly known to 

 Victorian collectors for some time past, and much resembling 

 Heteronympha bavksii (Leach), has been named H. paradelpha 

 by Mr. O. Lower, of Adelaide. It is probable that Dr. Lucas 

 intended to name this insect when he described H. affinis (Lucas), 

 but his description agrees with a typical specimen of H. banksii, 

 as described by Leach in 181 5, the principal distinction 

 between the two insects being that in //. paradelpha the large 

 black spot in the anal angles of the secondary wings has no 

 outer encircling ring. 



