2G0 ON THE GENTIS IIELTCOMITUS. 



NOTE IV. 



SYNONYMICAL NOTES CONCERNING THE 

 lEROUS GENUS HELICOMITUS, MAC 



BY 



Dr. H. W. VAN DER V^EELE. 



NEUROPTEROUS GENUS HELICOMITUS, MAC LACHL. 



This genus was erected by Mac Lachlan [Journ. Linn. 

 Soc. XI, p. 261 (1871)] for a group of Indian species des- 

 cribed by Walker [Cat. Brit. Mus. Neur. (1853)]. Mac Lachlan 

 gives but a preliminary review of the synonymy of the 

 species which were all described by Walker in such an 

 unintelligible manner, that it is impossible to judge after 

 his descriptions about their synonymy. Some weeks ago 

 Mr. W. P. Kirby communicated me the Ascalaphidae of 

 the British Museum and among them were three cotypes 

 of Walker, which he kindly had compared. They agree 

 very well with Walker's descriptions and belong to the 

 species insimulans, immotus and dicax. As the individuals 

 vary very much in colour after the degree of maturity 

 and as the species have a very large geographical distribution, 

 it is clear why Walker has described under so many names 

 so few species. I refer to them after Mac Lachlan's syno- 

 nymy: so is insimulans the male of dicax, which latter 

 name has the priority. Immotus is a distinct species which 

 is synonymical with Ascalaphus cervinus Hagen, from Ceylon. 

 The latter name has, after a cotype of Brauer's collection 

 in the Vienna Museum, the priority. The same species is 

 figured by Westwood (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1888). It 

 has a large distribution being found in the Malay Penin- 

 sula, Sumatra, Java, Celebes etc. I saw in the Vienna Museum 

 a very large specimen from Manilla, which I think to belong 

 to the same species. Gerstaecker (Mitth. Vorporam. und 

 Rügen, XXV) described females from Java and Sumatra under 

 the name Suphalasca placida. I cannot give any information 

 about H. verbosus and profanus Walker, quoted by Mac 

 Lachlan as distinct species, but after the descriptions I pre- 

 sume that they are large specimens of cervinus Hagen; I 

 have, however, no original specimens for comparison. H. cteno- 

 cerus Gerst, is Acheron trux Walk., as I could state after 

 comparing the types. H. philippinensis v. d. Weele is an 

 aberrant species spread over the Indian Archipelago ; it is 

 known from Java, Celebes and Luzon. 



Ley den, November 1905. 



Notes from tlie Leyclen IMuseum, Vol. XX.VI. 



