C R E S S I D A Helicomdes, 

 Cress Ida Butterfly. 



Sub-Fam. Papilionoe. Genus Papilio. Sub-Genus Cressida. Nobis. 



Sub-Generic Character. 



Wings diaphanous ; posterior perpendicularly elongated, obtusely 

 dentated or scolloped. Antenna stout, the club very thick. 



Types, Cressida IJeliconides and Harmonides. Sw. 



Specific Character. 



/interior icings diaphanous, with the base, and two opaque, costal 

 transvere spots, black; posterior black, tvith a central while 

 space, and a marginal raw of crimson spots, brightest beneath. 



Papilio Cressida, Fab. Enl Si/s. 3. I. p. 20. Don. III. ofEnt. 3. pi. 

 12. /. 2. Encij. iVeth. p. 76. No. 14-5. 



For a long time, the only museum in Europe which 

 could boast of this butterfly, was that of Sir Joseph 

 Banks; who found it in Van Deimans Land, during 

 his celebrated scientific voyage with Captain Cook. 

 Fabricius, the most eminent entomologist of that day, 

 described the species from this specimen : which, with 

 the whole of the Banksian Cabinet, was presented by 

 its learned and munificent possessor to the Linnaean 

 Society of London, where it still exists. The only 

 published figure is that of Donovans, which is much 

 too small, and is otherwise faulty. The species is still 

 very rare in collections ; our own, a fine pair, were 

 received from Van Diemans Land. 



Although unacquainted with the larva, and pupa state 

 of this species, nature has stamped the perfect insect 

 with the image of that group she intends it to represent. 

 Its long, narrow, anterior wings, almost transparent, 

 immediately reminds even the unpractised entomologist 

 of the Heliconian butterflys ; while the analysis of the 

 genus Papilio, confirms this idea, by shewing that 

 Cress da is the Heliconian type. We scarcely need 

 remind the student of the natural system that if our 

 theory he correct, this representation, under one form 

 or other, will be found to pervade every group of Lep- 

 idoptera. In all such as we have yet investigated, 

 this opinion has been fully verified. 



94. 



