CASTNIA Fabricii, 

 Red iinderwing Day-moth. 



Generic Character. 



Antennce clavatcc, clavo elongato, ci/lindraceo, fu&iformi, ad apicem 

 unco brevi, acuta arinato. Palpi breves, gracilcs, hand pro- 

 minent es, articuh ■ultimo nudo, oblique verticales. Vertex 

 ocellatus? ocello oculumjuxta ittrumque posito. 



Obs. Caput parvum ; ah/rum basis squarnis conspicuis, elongatis 

 imbricata. 



Antennae clubbed ; club elongated, rounded, fusiform, ending in a 

 short acute hook. Palpi short, slender, not projecting beyond 

 the front, the last joint naked, obliquely vertical. Crown 

 with a small ocellus ? adjoining each eye. 



Ob. Head small : base of the wings covered with conspicuous, 

 lengthened, imbricate scales. 



Specific Character. 

 C. alis anticis, suprH ferrugineis ; posticis rvfis, fasciis 3 nndatis^ 



nigris, masculis ovatis inter stinctis, ornatis. 

 Anterior wings above ferruginous ; posterior rufous, with three 



waved bands of black, between which are imperfect oval spots. 



The insects of this genus form one of the most singular 

 groups among the Lepidoptera ; they are few in number, 

 and confined to the tropical regions of America; flying only 

 during the meridian heat, and then with incredible rapidity : 

 they frequent the narrow inlets of thick forests, occasionally 

 resting, far above the ground, on the trunks of trees. The 

 species here figured is very rare, and came from the Diamond 

 district of Brazil : it is named after the illustrious ento- 

 mologist who first founded the genus. The bases of the 

 wings beneath are furnished, in the male, with a spiral 

 socket and horny spring, similar to those of the Phalaenidae. 



PI. 149. 



