264 NYMPHALIDiE. 



Genus XL VII. VICTORINA. 



ViCTOEiNA Blanchard. 



Aphn^us and Amphtrene Boisd., E. Boubleday. 



IMetamorpha and Siproeta Hiibn. 



Vanessa and Nymphalis God'. 



Body moderately stout ; wings large, lund ones with short tails. 



Head broad, nearly as wide as the thorax ; forehead hauy, not decidedly tufted. 



Eyes prominent, naked. 



Labial Palpi ascending, but not reaching the level of the top of the eyes, porrected to about twice the length of 

 the head, flattened on the under side or front, scaly ; the base beneath with_ short haii-s ; the back of the 

 second joint also hairy as weU as the inner surface, which causes their exti*emities to be apart, not forming a 

 conical beak ; terminal joint short, slender, and cylindrical. 



Antenna! about two fifths of the length of the fore wings, rather slender, nearly straight, with an elongated, 

 slender, gradually formed club ; with a shallow narrow groove running down the whole antennas on the inside ; 

 apex terminated rather obliquely. 

 Thorax woolly ; metathorax clothed with rather short hairs. 



Fore Wings large, subtriangular. Fore margin much rounded. Apical margin scalloped, rather angulated below 

 the apex, and emarginate below the angle. Inner margin nearly straight. Costal vein moderately strong, 

 extending rather beyond the middle of the wing. Subcostal vein slender ; its first branch arising at about one 

 third of the distance from the base ; second branch arising very close beyond the preceding, uniting with the 

 costa at about three fifths of its length, its basal half running close to the continuation of the subcostal vein ; 

 third branch arising at about two thirds of the length of the wing, and extending to the tip ; fourth branch 

 arising rather beyond three fourths of the length of the wing ; terminal division of the post-costal vein 

 obUquely deflexed. Upper disco-cellular extremely short, arising close beyond the second branch of the post- 

 costal ; middle disco-cellular also short, but rather directed towards the base of the wing ; lower disco-cellular 

 obsolete, or represented by a short spur directed backwards towards the base of the wing, the cell being open, 

 but the position of its extremity indicated by a silvery waved streak edged with black fines. Median vein 

 strong, its third branch strongly arched at its base. 



Hind Wings rather deeply scalloped along the outer margin. The outer branch of the median vein terminating in 

 a short distinct tail. Costal margin curved. Precostal vein forming a short nearly straight spur. Costal vein 

 curved. Post-costal vein branched at one fourth of the length of the wing from the base. Upper disco-cellular 

 vein forming the base of the discoidal vein, arising at about one sixth of an inch from the base of the subcostal 

 branch ; lower disco-cellular vein obsolete, so that the cell of the hind wing is also open. Median vein with 

 the third branch emitted considerably beyond the base of the discoidal vein. 



Fore Legs of the male extremely small, pectoral, scaly, with lateral fringe of fine hairs. Tibia nearly as long as 

 the femur. Tarsus not more than one third of the length of the tibia, simple, exarticulate, and destitute of 

 claws. Fore Leg of the female twice the length of that of the male, and fully equal to half the length of the 

 middle legs, slender, scaly. Femur hairy beneath. Tibia rather shorter than the femur, scaly. Tarsus about 

 equal in length to the tibia, rather dilated at the extremity, the articulations indicated by small spines on the 

 inside. Claws obsolete. 



Four Hind Legs long and rather slender, scaly, and thickly armed Avith short sharp spines, arranged both 

 internally and on the outside of the tibia in rows. Tibial spurs rather strong. Tarsus longer than the tibia, 

 with several rows of strong spines beneath, and a few scattered on the back of the basal joints. Claws large, 

 strong, and hooked, nearly as long as the terminal fringe of seta;, arising on the ujiper extremity of the last 

 joint. Paronycliia well defined, bifid ; the outer lacinia as long as the claw, slender, obtuse ; the inner one 

 smaller, more acute, finely setose. 

 Abdomen smaller and shorter than the thorax. 



This genus is nearly allied to Timetes, from which it differs in the larger-sized wings, the shorter tails, the more spinose legs, and the 

 more gaping extremity of the palpi. I can discover no character to separate Stelenes from the other species, all agreeing together in 

 the general form of the wings, antennie, palpi, and also in the curious, slender, silver marking, indicating the position of the extremity 

 of the discoidal cell. V. Stelenes possesses, however, a little spur running into the discoidal cell, from the extremity of the middle 

 disco-cellular vein, which is absent in V. Epaphus. j\[. Boisduval, in his MS., unites P. Sulpitia of Cramer (which I have given 

 under the genus Pyrrhogyra, ante, p. 253.) iu the same genus with Stelenes, to which it certainly bears considerable affinity in its 

 markings. 



The description given by Fabricius of the Lauva of V, Stelenes is taken from Madame Merian, whose figure clearly represents 



