46 



modify his opinions to an extent involving the change of specific 

 names, in the manner followed in this instance by Linnaeus (which is 

 however a power which I deny that an author ought to possess), we 

 must remove from the Carolina species all right to the name of Pajahia 

 and confer it on the African insect ; but I contend that as Linnaeus 

 clearly defined the American species under that name in the 'Museum 

 Ludov. Ulr.,' and in his subsequent work made no attempt to dis- 

 criminate the three species, we are warranted, 1st, in retaining the 

 name of Paphia for the American insect, in which case it will be ne- 

 cessary to sink the Fabrician name of Polyphemus into a synonym of 

 Paphia ; 2ndly, in giving to the African one the Fabrician name of 

 Bione (striking out the incorrect Fabrician reference of Petiver's 

 Guinea insect to the Asiatic species) ; and Srdly, in giving a different 

 specific name to the Tusseh silk moth of India, to which Fabricius 

 restricted the name of S. Paphia, but which it ought certainly not to 

 retain, seeing that Linnaeus, when he first proposed that name, knew 

 only the African and American insects. Drury has however enabled 

 us to clear up the difficulty as to this third species, having figured it 

 in the second volume of his ' Illustrations' under the name oiMylitta 

 (pi. 5. fi^A— Paphia, Cramer. Ins. 13. tab. 147. fig. A), which name 

 Fabricius also adopted, gi-ving the Asiatic species twice over mider 

 the names of Paphia and Mylitta. 



The synonjons of the three species will stand thus : — 



1. Saturnia Paphia, Lmn. Mus. Lud. Ulr. 

 B. Polyphemus, Fabr. 



Hah. North America. 



2. Saturnia Bione, Fabricius. 

 PhalcBua Guineensis, Petiver. 



Ph. Paphia, Linn. Syst. Nat., ed. 10. expiarte. 

 B. Petiveri, GuMn, Ann. Soc. Sericicole. 

 Hah. Africa. 



3. Saturnia Mylitta, Drury, Fabr, 

 B. Paphia, Cramer, Fabricius. 

 The Tusseh Silkworm JNIoth. 

 Hah. India. 



Saturnia "Wahlbergii, Boisduval in Delegorgue, Voy. dans 

 I'Afr. Austr. ii. p. 600. 



Of this supposed species, which inhabits Port Natal, I have seen 

 specimens, but I cannot consider them distinct from S. Bione, of 

 which they are highly coloured mdividuals. The following is M. 

 Boisduval' s description : — 



"Elle est un pen plus grande que la Saturnia Pyri d' Europe, et 

 sou port est assez different. Le dessus des quatres ailes est jaune, 

 fortement saupoudre d'atomes bruns avec une bande etroite, brune 

 double'e interieurement de gris violatre commune reguliere ; com- 

 men9ant pres du sommet des superieures et arrivant an bord interne 

 des infe'rieures, juste au niveau de I'extremite de 1' abdomen. Vers le 

 base des quatre ailes on voit une autre bande commune tres-sinueuse 

 irreguliere, violatre precede a la base des superieures d'uue espece de- 



