PROTESILAUS Leilus, 

 Protesilaus Butterfly . 



Genus Amphrisius, &w. Sub-genus Protesilaus, Sic. 



Sub-Generic Characters. 



Wings trigonal, acute, yellow with black transverse bands; the 

 inferior lengthened, narrowed, with two long acute tails ; an- 

 tennae short, the club thick, slightly compressed, but solid, and 

 convex all round ; front very hairy ; Larva covered with sharp 

 spines. Pupa braced, but suspended downwards. 

 Type, Pap. Protesilaus. Auct. 



Specific Character. 



Wings straw-colour ; the superior with four, short, black, costal 

 bands towards the base, and two towards the exterior margin ; 

 the latter uniting at the posterior angle. 



Pap. Protesilaus. Lin. Feib. Ent. Sys. 3. pi. p. 23. Ency. 

 Meth. p. 50. Merian Sur. pi. 43. Cramer, pi. 202. /. a. b. 



From the resemblance which this insect bears to the rare 

 British species, named by collectors the scarce Swallow- 

 tail, (Papilio Podalirius,) it is generally called the 

 Brazilian Swallow-tail. We advert to this circumstance, 

 trivial as it may sound to scientific ears, first because it 

 is one of the many proofs in which the nomenclature of 

 the vulgar conveys greater information than that of the 

 professor : and secondly, because these very names, in 

 numberless instances, imply a perception of natural 

 analogies, which, without the labour of philosophic 

 research, suggest themselves to unscientific observers. 

 In the present instance, these facts may be verified in 

 the most unquestionable manner. According to our 

 views, Protesilaus not only represents one of the primary 

 groups of the Lepidoptera, but also typifies the Fissirostral 

 birds, of which the swallows are the most pre-eminent. 

 Madam Merian's valuable work on the Insects of Surinam, 

 has furnished us with a figure of the larva ; which, unlike that 

 of the I uropean Swallow-tails, is covered with spines : the 

 chrysalis also departs from the usual type of the family, 

 in Inning the head directed downwards. These facts we 

 ha\e verified by an inspection of the original drawings, of 

 M. Merian, now deposited in the British Museum. These 

 are all important variations in structure, which can only be 

 explained by the natural system. 



93. 



