INSECT FAUNA RAINBOW. 95 



LEPIDOPTERA. 



FAMILY NEPHALID^. 



Junonia vellida, Fabr One specimen, damaged. 



Only one species and of that a single specimen of Lepidoptera 

 was obtained, namely Junonia vellida. This species with four 

 others, namely, Euplcea eleutho, E. distincta, Diadema nerina, 

 and D. otaheitce, were obtained by the Rev. J. S. Whitmee 

 at the Ellice Islands, and was duly recorded in a paper by 

 A. G. Butler, in 1878."* Referring to J. vellida, the writer 

 penned the following interesting note : " Resembles Australian 

 examples, being less suffused with orange-tawny than Samoan 

 specimens." In another paper, entitled " Lepidoptera collected 

 by Mr. C. M. Woodford in the Ellice and Gilbert Islands,"! 

 Mr. Butler records J. vellida from Nukufetau (Ellice Group) 

 and Tapetewea (Gilbert Group), and Hypolimnas rarick from 

 Tapetewea. Mr. Woodford also refers to the two last-named 

 species in his paper, J and states that the larva of /. vellida 

 feeds upon Sccevola kcenigii, and the larva of H. rarick on an 

 Abutilon. He says that "Of the two species of butterflies, 

 J. vellida is generally distributed throughout the Pacific Islands, 

 but H. rarick, so far as I know, although found in the Marshalls, 

 does not extend further to the south-east than the Gilbert Group." 



Commenting on the Lepidoptera of the island, Mr. Hedley 

 says : " Large green caterpillars whose clawed tails proclaimed 

 them of the Sphingidre were occasionally brought by the natives, 

 and were probably related to a large day-flying hawk-moth, like 

 the European clearwing which was rarely seen, hovering and 

 dashing from tree to tree above the sweep of a butterfly net. 

 Small moths were to be obtained by beating the bushes, and 

 swarmed to our lamp at night through the open sides of our 

 native hut." 



DIPTERA. 



Amongst the Muscadte procured four appear to be new to 

 science, and are herewith described and figured. Other specimens 

 obtained at Funafuti were so mangled by the natives who caught 

 them as to be absolutely useless. 



Speaking of the flies, Mr. Hedley says : " They were a great 

 nuisance ; they swarmed on the ship's boats as they came ashore, 

 and on their return invaded the vessel, to which they kept for 



* Proc. Zool. Soc., 1878, pp. 296-7. 



t Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. (5), xv., pp. 238-9. 



JQeogr. Journ., vi., 4, 1895, p. 348. 



Loc. cit., p. 349. 



