II 



NOTES ON MEXICAN LEPIDOPTERA WITH DES- 

 CRIPTIONS OF NEW SPECIES. 



By Henry Edwards. 



It has recently been my privilege to examine a magnificent collection 

 of Lepidoptera, captured chiefly in the State of Vera Cruz, Mexico, 

 by Mr. William Schaus, Jr., many species in which appear to me to 

 be new to science. It is, however, /i^ja^possible that some of those now 

 characterized may have been described in the " Biologia Centrali- Amer- 

 icana, ' ' but as that magnificent work is inaccessible to me, I venture 

 to put upon record my own descriptions, even at the risk of creating a 

 few synonyms. For the following species I have searched in vain 

 through the recent publications of Walker, Butler, and others, and 

 unless they are known to the authors of the " Biologia," I think I am 

 justified in my present course. It is a matter of great personal regret, 

 and a great loss to science, that Mr. Schaus has, for the present at 

 least, been compelled to leave Mexico, and abandon his observations 

 upon the insect fauna of the interesting region explored by him. He 

 had already done much toward a knowledge of the transformations of 

 many rare species, and had exhibited so much zeal and intelligence in 

 his work, that his cessation from labor in this enchanting field is greatly 

 to be deplored. In a few years Mr. Schaus would undoubtedly have 

 become one of our foremost entomologists, and it is earnestly to be 

 hoped that he may yet be enabled to follow the study of the science he 

 has done so much to illustrate. The types of the species now noticed 

 are either in my own collection or in that of Mr. B. Neumoegen. I 

 hope to continue the description of other forms in future numbers of 

 " Papilio." 



SPHINGIDiE. 



Amphonyx cluentius, Clem. — Palpi dull buff, blackish above. 

 Antennae sordid white, shading into brownish at their base. About 

 the base of the legs are some dull buff hairs — the tibiae are reddish 

 brown, the tarsi a litde darker. Thorax and head blackish brown, the 

 former without distinct stripes, but with buff hairs intermingled, a 

 roundish blotch on the sides, and a streak of the same color at the 

 base of the wings. Abdomen blackish, a gray shade on disc, and a 

 narrow black discal line on four posterior segments. The lateral spots 

 are five in number, bright orange, margined in front with black, and 

 reduced in size posteriorly as in all the genus. Primaries blackish 

 brown, with a fawn-colored shade along the internal margin, widest at 

 base, and enclosing some rather broad velvety-l^lack waved lines. 



