PAPILIO. INSECTS. 361 



j- Antennae terminated in a small club, in the form of a button, short, turbinated, 

 or ovoid ; caterpillar very spinose. 



Gen VANESSA. 



*f--f- Antennae terminated in an elongated club, or almost filiform ; caterpillar naked 

 or slightly spinous, with the posterior extremity terminated in a bifid point. 



Gen. LIBYTHEA, BIBLIS, NYMPHALIS, MORPHO. 

 b. Central areola of the lower wings closed posteriorly. 

 Gen. PAVONIA, BRASSOLUS, EURIBIUS, SATYRUS. 



II. Third or last joint of the labial palpi very distinct, naked, or less furnished with 

 scales or hairs than the preceding ; hooks of the tarsi scarcely sensible ; caterpil- 

 lar oval ; chrysalis without eminences or angular projections. 

 3. Argus. 



1. Antennas terminated by an inflation, beardless. 



Gen. MYRINE, POLYOMMATUS, ERYCINA. 



The Myrines are remarkable for the length and projection of the labial palpi. 

 The Polyommati with the antennas terminating in a cylindrico-oval and elongated 

 club form the genus Thecla of Fabricius. 



2. Antennas either setaceous or plumose, or moniliform at the end. 



Gen. BARBICORNIS, ZEPHYRIUS. 



Gen. PAPILIO, Lat. Lin. 



Chrysalis naked, angular, fixed by the tail and by a silky band 

 disposed transversely and terminating on each side on the 

 plane of position ; perfect insect with six feet proper for 

 walking in both sexes. 



The animals of this and the connected genera have an elongated body, always 

 pubescent or covered with scales ; the head rounded, compressed before, broader 

 than long, narrower than the thorax, with two antennas, generally shorter than the 

 body, composed of a great number of indistinct joints, with a cylindrical stalk and 

 terminated by a club ; two exterior or inferior palpi, cylindrical or conical, cover- 

 ed with scales or very hairy, of three joints, of which the last is very small or almost 

 none, in many. Tongue filiform, rolled up in a spiral form between the palpi in 

 repose, composed of two pieces forming a tube for the passage of the sweet fluids. 

 Eyes oval, reticulated, and large ; thorax oval, of three intimately connected segments; 

 abdomen oval, elongate or cylindrical, often compressed laterally, always soft; four 

 large farinaceous wings, or covered with minute scales. These wings are triangu- 

 lar in some species, oblong or oval in others ; and the insect in repose elevates them 

 perpendicularly. Their posterior border presents many inequalities of form, as den- 

 tations and lobes of various figures. The upper wings rest on part of the lower 

 ones. The abdomen of the male is deeply divided at its extremity into two lobes 

 or valves, almost oval, and in the form of forceps. The organs of generation are in- 

 ternal. The feet in this group are always six in number. The legs have generally 

 two spurs or spines at their extremity ; but in some there are other two placed to- 

 wards the middle of the internal side. The tarsi are five jointed, the last terminated 

 by two hooks of various forms. In a great number the anterior feet are not cal- 

 culated for walking. 



The striking beauty of this group of insects has attracted attention beyond most 

 of the other tribes. The splendid decorations indeed of their varied dress attracts 

 even infant notice. All that is splendid in colouring is displayed in the Mosiac coat- 

 ing of their wings ; and many naturalists, with a feeling of their superiority to all 

 the other insect races, have placed the genus Papilio at the head of the class. Nature, 

 according to some, has produced among insects animals analogous in point of colour, 

 ing to the humming-birds ; to which they are also analogous in the instrument 

 by which they suck the honey from the calices of flowers. In most of the other 

 insects the wings are exactly of amplitude sufficient for the execution of their move- 

 ments ; but in the tribe of butterflies the wings have been extended in multiplied 

 forms to display the most brilliant colours. The scales, in number beyond calcu- 



