510 PROF. J. O. WESTWOOD ON THE URANIID^. 



therefore, to retain Hiibner's name, with a .slightly altered termination, fur uniformity, 

 into Alcidia. 



The name Chrysindia, given by Hiibner to P. riphcus, is a happy one, and may be 

 retained for that brilliant insect; but it has unfortunately happened for Hubner's last 

 name, Mania, that it has been employed by Treitschke for a genus of Noctuidae, for 

 which it is still retained by Guenee and H. Doubleday ; I therefore have the less hesi- 

 tation in altering Hiibner's name into Manidia, and in rejecting the subsequent name 

 given to it of Sematura. 



In 1825 the Swedish naturalist Dalman, in his monograph of Castnia, neglected 

 the arrangements of Fabricius and Hiibner, blaming the former for inserting P. orontes, 

 Linn., in the genus Castnia, with the observation " quae vero species minime hujus 

 generis sed ad Xyctalideas nostras pertinet, etsi transitum memorabilem Papilionides 

 inter et Nyctalideas bene offert. Genera hue pertinentia sequenti modo distribuere 

 tentavimus : 



" CvDiMoN : Ripheus, Sloaiietis, Leilus et forte Lavinia Fabr. = Gen. Urania Fabr. Latr.' 

 Nyctalemon : Oronles, Patroclus. 



Sematura : Lunus, JEgistus Fabr., Empedocles Herbst." 

 To which he adds Thysania with agrippina, odora, &c., as types, evidently identical 

 with the Noctuideous genus Erebus, and also doubtfully the genus Agarista of liCach 

 (Zool. Misc. i. tab. xv.). 



It will be seen that the genus Cydimon of Dalman is equivalent to the Chrysiridia 

 and Urania of Hiibner, that Nyctalemon, Dalm.,= the LyssK and Alcides of Hiibner, 

 and that Sematura, Dalm., = Mania of Hiibner. 



In 1840 (Introd. Mod. Class. Ins. ii. p. -369) I separated these insects into a single 

 family placed between the Sphingidse and Anthroceridae. 



In 1854 Mr. "Walker, in his Catalogue of the Collection of the British Museum 

 (Lepidoptera Heterocera, Pt. 1), adopted the genera Urania for Leilus and Rhipheus, 

 Nyctalemon for Orontes and Patroclus, to which he added Lunus and its allies (gen. 

 Sematura, Dalman), and Coronis; which last, notwithstanding its intimate relation- 

 ship with Sematura, Lunus, &c., ho placed in the family Castnii, as Latreille had 

 done. 



Lastly, in 1857, M. A. Guenee (Hist. Nat. Ins. Lep. tom. ix.) has arranged all the 

 preceding genera into one group, Uranides, at the head of his Phalenites ( Geometra. 

 Linn.), divided into four families : 



1. CydimonidjE : Gen. Cydimon {Leilus kc). 



2. Uranid^: Gen. Urania {Rhipheus). 



3. "NvcTALiEMONiD.ii : Gcu. Alcidis {Orontes) and Nyctalemon {Patroclus &c.). 



4. Sematuiiid;B : Gen. Sematura {Lunus kc.) and Coronis {Oril/iea kc). 



' "Obs. Uraniic nonioii pro iusectorum genere nullo modo admittendum, etenim jamdiu ijluularum genus, 

 notibsimum quidom, sic vocaiuni." 



