283 



Daxais Petilia, Stij^l. 

 "Tepper calls this D. Clivysippufi, Linn., in his list, a ividely 

 different species" (I.e., p. 4). Kirby and other systeniatists place 

 this species close to the old world Cltrysippus, the differences 

 being really so slight that one is quite justified in considering 

 them as racial varieties. George Semper says (Journ. Mus., 

 Godefroy, part XIY., 1878):— "To establish the fact whether 

 Petilia be rightly separated from Chrysippus, it is very desir- 

 able to know something of the first stages of the Australian form. 

 It cannot be denied that specimens of Chrysippus from Morotai 

 and Ceram approach Petilia very much in external appearance." 

 Preceding the above-quoted (translated) sentence the same critical 

 author calls them " very closely allied," the exact opposite to 

 Mr. Lower's dictum. The species was not collected in South 

 Australia previous to 1870, as far as I have been able to ascer- 

 tain, its home being in Queensland and Northern Australia, 

 probably owing to the absence of food-plants (Asclepiads), which 

 subsequently became introduced as garden escapees, and should 

 always be treated as an introduction, as Avell as the following. 



Daxais Erippus, Cramer. 

 This is a notoriously modern introduction since about 1875- 

 1878. Kir])y says that Erippus is a South American butterfly, 

 while the variety xircjdpjms was the most common North 

 American form. 



Xenica Achanta, Don. 

 I collected this species at Second (or Slape's) Gully in November, 

 1884. Subsequently I identified and exhibited specimens with 

 others at a meeting of the Royal Society South Australia. 



Pyrameis Itea, Fahr. 

 The Stinging Nettle {Urtica urens) cannot have been the 

 original foodplant of this truly indigenous species, if it be such 

 now, for this plant was intentionally (it is said) introduced by 

 sheepfarmers as a fodder-plant for stock. The only native mem- 

 bers of the Urticacepe were the large semi-aquatic nettle of the 

 Murray, etc., and the small common rockweed, Parietaria dehilis. 

 The fact that the species feeds now on the widely-spread intro- 

 duced weed w^ould account for its present abundance as compared 

 with its scarcity inland during the earlier years, 



Pyrameis Kershawi, McCoy. 

 Almost all lepidopterologists, it seems, are now agreed that 

 this is really only a slightly diverging variety of the old P. cardui, 

 Avhich is also pointed out by Messrs. Anderson and Spry in their 

 recently published work, " Victorian Butterflies," hence tlie name 

 should be expunged. 



