MONSTROSITIES. 17 59 



This genus consists of a single spufies bearing a close resemblance to 

 some Australian forms. It is {.eciiliar, however, as far as known, to the 

 southern states of the Union, but has once been taken near Xew En'^-land. 



The butterflies arc of small size and the males destitute of a discal 

 patch. The wings are almost black with a few very small, whitish spots 

 in an extra-mesial series on both wings, less numerous on the hind than on 

 the fore wings. 



Nothing is known of its history or early stages but some brief memo- 

 randa given by Dr. Chapman, from which it would appear that the cater- 

 pillar is slender and pale green with a light brown head and thoracic shield, 

 and the chrysalis of a dull green with no frontal projection. 



EXCUESUS LXXV.— MONSTROSITIES. 



Who breaks a butterfly upon a wheel? 



Pope. 



Monstrosities always have a strange allurement and often contribute 

 not a little to our knowledge of the morphology of the group of creatures 

 in which they occur. Goethe, indeed, said that Nature revealed herself 

 through them ; but though we cannot yet expect anything important when 

 gleaning in so narrow a field as the butterflies, it may be worth while to 

 continue to collect facts in this direction until they may be available for 

 some important use. Such as they are, therefore, I bring together the 

 little that the butterflies have so far to show. 



Specimens showing a mingling of the characters of the two sexes, called 

 gynandromorphs, are by no means unknown. A hurried survey of the 

 literature of the subject, most of whicli was collected many years ago by 

 Dr. H. A. Hagen, shows seventy-one published examples of thirty-one 

 species, mostly European ; of these eight are Satyrids of three species, 

 eighteen Nymphalinae of eleven species, including our Vanessa atalanta 

 and Euvanessa antiopa, thirteen Lycaeninae of four species, twenty-four 

 Pierinae of seven species and eight Papilioninae of six species. Most of 

 these show complete bilateral distinction, the wings of one side being of 

 one sex, of the other of the opposite sex ; apparently the left side is 

 usually female. A few cases have been observed in which the wings of 

 one side are of mixed sexual characters, such as in Cirrochroa aoris (West- 

 wood), Laertias philenor (Strecker), Argynnis paphia (Rober), etc. 

 Westwood even gives a plate of his magnificent Thesaurus entomologicus 

 oxonicnsis to such insects, mostly I)utterflies, in which eight different kinds 

 are figured, and they present an extraordinary a])pearauce. Dr. AV. J. Hol- 

 land writes me that he has a Papilio polyxenes collected by Mead, in \vlu( li 

 the abdomen is female, while the wings have the male coloring. In our 



