PAPILIO. 95 



many of the Sphingides ; others are short and thick, 

 and furnished with numerous rather short fleshy 

 points ; finally, there are some (Podalirius^ Ajax, 

 Antiphates) which somewhat resemble snails in 

 shape. The caterpillars of Papilio may he distin- 

 guished from those of other genera belonging to the 

 same tribe by the following characters : — They differ 

 from those of Ornithoptera in their retractile tenta- 

 culum not being enclosed in two exterior cases ; 

 from those of Thais, in the projections which they 

 sometimes present being never hispid at the extre- 

 mity ; and from those of Parnassius, in the body 

 being always free from pubescence ; but it is more 

 particularly from the characters drawn from the 

 chrysalis and perfect insect that this last genus is 

 distinguished from Papilio*." 



The perfect insects are characterised by very short 

 palpi not passing beyond the eyes, all the joints 

 very indistinct, the third quite invisible ; antennas 

 pretty long, the club slightly curved upwards ; ab- 

 domen pretty large, the anal valves in the male of 

 moderate size ; wings rather strong, the inferior pair 

 having the abdominal margin folded upwards and 

 leaving the abdomen free, their exterior border 

 more or less dentated, and often prolonged poste- 

 riorly into a tail. 



According to the above definition, the genus com- 

 prehends rather upwards of 220 species. They are 

 distributed over almost every quarter of the globe, 



* Species general dcs Le'pidopteres, vol. i. p. 184. 



