58 VAR. JAMAICENSIS. 



pupil in Mr. Liiitnor's example is in the upper part of the black spot, in mine it occupies the centre, in 

 Drury's figure the right hand pupil is in the centre, and the left hand more towards the lower part. 



Drui-y's figure in the original edition of 1773 has the thorax, abdomen and primaries flesh or fawn-colored, 

 and the costal and outer margins of secondaries yellow, of which latter color no mention whatever is made in 

 the description with which Mr. Ijintner's example and mine agree exactly. Drury mentions particularly in 

 his preface tliat he hopes any inaccuracies in the illustrations will be credited to their proper source, the artists, 

 and it is evident that in this instance the artists laid on gamboge with the intention of improving nature, for 

 which they doubtless considered themselves fully competent. In Wcstwood's edition of Drury, published in 

 1837, the bright yellow had grown in such ilivor in the sight of the artists, that in addition to the margins of 

 secondaries, they extended operations and laid the favored })igment also over the abdomen. 



Drury 's figures represent a male, Mr. Lintner's example and mine are females. 



Grote and Robinson contended that Drury 's figure represented a distinct species ; they say " Smerinthus 

 Jainaiceihsis, Drury sp., seems to us, judging from Drury 's figure and description, quite distinct from the north- 

 ern species from the Atlantic District," * and !Mr. Grote expresses the same belief in his last Catalogue,t where 

 he thinks it must be conceded that Mr. Lintner's reasons are partly speculative when he refers Drury's figure 

 to S. Geminatus ; we do not think anything of the sort must be conceded, when we are fully informed of the 

 fact that Mr. Lintner's sjiecimen, which agrees with Drury's description and figure, with tlie exception of the 

 false coloring on secondaries of latter, was produced from ova deposited by Geminatus. 



Fabricius thought Drury's figure was intended for S. Ocellata, and as Smith says, " (juotes it as such 

 without any scruple."! 



With regard to Drury's locality of Jamaica, it is scarcely necessary to state that the earlier writers, owing 

 to the want of precise information, frequently gave erroneous localities; thus, Cramer cites Dys. Boreus as a 

 native of India, whilst its true home is Surinam, and to come nearer home, Donovan figures our Anth. Genutia 

 in his " Insects of India." I would further remark the well attested fact, tliat so far there is no authentic in- 

 stance of any species of Smerinthus having yet been found in the West Indies, or South and Central America. 



We think a critical comparison of our figure with Drury's illustration and description will convince the 

 most skeptical of their identity. 



That we cannot summarily dispose of the name Jamaicensis, so utterly inapplicable to a form indigenous 

 to Xew York and Maryland, is much to be deplored, but according to the same law of jiriority that allows 

 the stability of such a name as Schmidtiiformis, § it will have to remain so. 



SMERINTHUS OPTHALMICUS. Boisduval. 



Ann. Soc. Ent., France. (1855.) 



(PLATE VII, FIG. 4, J', 5, ?.) 



» 



Male and Femai.k. Expand 3 to 3i inches. 



Head and palpi brown ; thorax pale grey, with a large dark brown dorsal patch ; abdomen brown. 



Upper surface ; primaries, a large pale grey basal patch, edged outwardly with dark brown, which latter 

 extends obliquely across the wing outside of the white discal lune to the costa ; beyond this are several other 

 brown, undulate transverse lines and shades ; the space from these to outer margin is brown, with an irregular 

 grey band extending from the inner angle to within a short distance of the apex ; a grey dash at the apex. 

 Secondaries rose-color ; outer margin clay-color; costal and inner margins yellowish white; ocellus black, 

 enclosing a blue iris whicli encircles a black pupil ; this is connected with the anal angle by a short black 

 band. 



Under surface ; primaries, basal half rosy, with a narrow white discal mark ; outer half brown, with some 

 rather indistinct whitish transverse lines ; costa whitish. Secondaries brown, traversed by a broad pale median 

 band and several dark brown lines ; a white discal mark ; costa white. 



Of the larva I am able to say nothing; as far as I am aware, it is as yet unknown. 



Habitat. California, Washington Ty., Lake Superior. 



There is between the male and female examples from California but little difference in colouration ; but 

 a female from Lake Superior (of which fig. 5 is a representation) has the markings of primaries of a less de- 



* Proc. Ent. Soc. Phila., Vol. V. p. 185. (1885.) 



+ Bull. Buff. Soc. Nat. Sc, Vol. I, p. 23. (1873.) 



J Abbot & Smith, Insects of Georgia, Vol. 1, p. 4S. (17U7.) 



S Sesia Schmidtiiformis, Frejer. (1830.) 



