CALLITHEA. AMNOSIA. 259 



Nothing can exceed the brilliancy of the beautiful insects comprising this genus. Our Plate XXIV. fig. 1. represents the female of 

 C. Sapphira, the male of which has the upper surface of the wings of the most intense purple blue, with a large patch of velvety black 

 on the disc of each ; on the under side the wings are of a remarkable glaucous bronze colour, with black spots arrantred in three rows, 

 the base of the hind wings in both sexes, and the disc of the fore wings in the female, being orange colour. The specimen which served 

 for our figure was unfortunately deficient in its palpi, and the clubs of the antenna are not represented sufficiently larn-e. C. Leprieurii 

 is of the same size as the preceding, but differs from it in several structural characters. The fore wings are considerably broader even 

 than in C. Sapphira, and the discoidal cell in the hind wings of the male is clothed with black hairs, lying flat on the surface of the 

 wing. The labial palpi are also greatly elongated in both sexes, extending to nearly twice the length of the head. The upper side of 

 the wings in both sexes is black, with a tinge of dark blue, and a subapical bar of silky glaucous green ; the male beino- distinguished 

 by an intense blue gloss on the disc of the fore wings. Beneath, both sexes are of a glaucous bronzed green with black streaks and 

 spots, and with the base of all the wings marked with small vivid carmine patches. 



Mr. Wallace, who has recently met with both these splendid species on the banks of the river Amazon, informs us that the males 

 frequent the tops of trees like the Purple Emperor butterfly of Europe, and are consequently extremely diiEcult to capture, the females 

 being found nearer the ground. 



The structure and clothing of the labial palpi at once remove this genus from the neighbourhood both of Argynnis and Vanessa, in 

 which genera the typical species was successively placed by Godart. 



CALLITHEA. 



1. Call. Sapphira. 



Oreas Corusca Sapphira Hlibn. Samml. exot. Schm. Band i. 



f. — . (m. and f.). 

 Asterope Sapphira Hiibner, Verx. bek. Schm. p. 6Q. n. 641. 

 Vanessa Callithea Godart, Enc. M. ix. f. 324.; Guirin, 



Iconogr. R. An. Ins. pi. 78- f. !• a (fem.). 

 Argynnis Call. Godart, Enc. M. ix. p. 807. 

 Callithea Sapphira Boisduval, Sp. Gen. des Lep. pi. 10. 



(6. B. f. 4. m. 5. f.).; Doubl. Westto. S; Hewitson, Gen. 

 D. Lep. pi. 24. f. 1. (fem.). 

 Interior of South America, Santarem, River Amazon. 



2. Call. Leprieurii Feisthamel in Guerin, Mag. de Zoologie, 1835, pi. 

 122. (male). 

 Central Guiana, Monteallegre, River Amazon. 



Genus XLIV. AMNOSIA. 



Amnosia Boisd. MS. 



Body rather slender ; wings large. 



Head narrower than the thorax, rather smaller in the female than in the male, with a well defined frontal tuft. 



Eyes oval, naked. 



Labial Palpi porrected to nearly twice the length of the head, directed upwards, but not reaching to the level of 

 the top of the eyes, cylindrical, forming, when applied against each other, an elongate conical beak, scaly 

 outside, finely setose within, and with a slight dorsal tuft of setas at the extremity of the second joint ; terminal 

 joint ovate-conical. 



AntenncB half the length of the fore wings, slender, porrected, nearly straight, terminated by a very slender 

 elongated club, gradually thickening for a considerable distance, rather obliquely truncate at the tip, and not 

 grooved. 

 Thorax oval, with the collar woolly, and the metathorax clothed with rather short hairs. 



Fore Wings large, trigonate. Anterior margin curved. Apical margin straight. Inner margin nearly straio-ht, 

 and very slightly longer than the apical one. Veins not strong. Costal vein rather the strongest, extendino- to 

 the middle of the fore margin. Subcostal vein slender ; its first branch arising at some distance before the 

 extremity of the discoidal cell; second branch arising at the distance of one third from the base of the wino-- 

 third branch arising near the middle of the wing, and just ojjposite to the extremity of the costal vein • fourth 

 branch arising at three fourths of the length of the wing. Upper disco-cellular exceedingly short, almost 

 obsolete, arising close beyond the base of the second branch of the subcostal ; middle and outer disco-cellular 

 forming a nearly continuous arch, witli the curve towards the base of the wing, closing the discoidal cell 

 which does not extend beyond one third of the entire length of the wing ; the lower disco-cellular being 

 longer than the middle one, and joining the median vein close to the origin of its third branch, which is not 

 much curved at its base. 



Hitid Wings somewhat quadrangular ovate ; the costal margin being nearly straight ; the outer maro-in entire 

 and not sinuated, but obsoletely angulated at the extremity of the third branch of the median vein, or rather 

 the space between it and the anal angle is nearly straight. Precostal vein forming a short straight spur. 

 Subcostal vein branching at the distance of one fourth of the length of the wing from the base. The upper 

 disco-cellular arising at a very little distance beyond the branch, and forming the base of the discoidal vein • 

 lower disco-cellular very slender, oblique, slightly curved, and rising at the same distance from the base of the 

 upper disco-cellular as between the base of the latter and of the branch of the subcostal, closing the discoidal 

 cell exactly at the base of the third branch of the median vein. 



July 1. 1850. 3 z 



