AUSTRALIAN LEPIDOPTERA 



AN!) THEIR 



TRA?fS FORMATIONS. 



ANTHER^A. 



AnslraJian Crroup, Brit, ilus. Cat. Lep. Het., p. 1252. 



Antkercea, Hubner. 

 Saturnia, Boisd,, Westwood. 



Corpus robustum. Altc ampla;, ocello partim vel omniiio vitrco ; liueis alternis yicibus undulatis inter ocellos 

 marginesquo posteriores ; anticpc plcrumque falcatas, pi-esertim in maribus. Thorax utrinque imcino valido armatus. Lingua 

 spiralis, obsoleta. Pedes, pilosi, robusti, tibiis posterioribus duobus parvis calcaribus instructis. Antennoe articulis 4-pcctinatis. 

 Larva magna, decora, tuberculata, ct arborioola. FoUioulus eoriaoeus, lentus, unius et ejusdem ubique generis. 



Body stout. AVings ample, eacb with an ocellus, whose disc is partly or wholly vitreous ; space between ocelli and 

 posterior borders undulating ; fore wings, principally in the males, falcate. Thorax furnished on each side with a strong hook. 

 Spiral tongue, obsolete. Legs pilose and robust ; second and posterior pairs with two small spurs on tibia;. AntennEe 

 4-pectinated on each joint. Larva large, showy, tuberculated and inhabiting trees. Cocoon, coriaceous, tough, of even texture 

 throutrhout. 



SPECIES 1st.— ASTIIER.<EA EUCALYPTI,— (Plate I.) 

 T.nrielies /3 & 7 ? of AnthoTO.i Helena, Brit. Tsh\s. Cat. Lep. Hot. p. 125-t. 



Tlie aromatic leaves of the noble Eiicalyptas furnisli food for tlie caterpillars of this species of Antheraia, and to wliicb, as 

 far as our experience extends, they exclusively attach themselves; out of tlie numbers we have met with, not any have been 

 found living upon the foliage of any other plant, although the wanderings of the mature larvae will lead them to adopt resting- 

 places quite foreign to their previous existence, and thus their cocoons may be seen not only on the stems and bark of neigh- 

 bouring trees, but also on walls and palings in frequent proximity to those of the Chelepteryx CoUesi and many other insects, 

 possessing similar dispositions. Li some of our Antherasoe, however, this exclusiveness to one particular kind of food does not 

 appear to hold, as the Larvae of the same species inhabit dissimilar plants ; and we ourselves have reared those of A. Janetta 

 on the leaves of the Podoearpus spinulosus, CEgiceras fragrans, Olea panioulata and Geigera salicifolia. In December the eater- 

 pillars of the A. Eucalypti may be procured in considerable numbers, even in the immediate vicinity of Sydney, and they are 

 easilj' diseernable by their size and beauty. When adult the prevailing color is of a light shining velvety green, merging into 

 blue along the back. Each segment is encircled by six elongated, equidistant saturnine tubercles, tipped by cobalt blue, and 

 emittin" star-shaped tufts of yellow hairs. These tubercles become paler and yellower towards tlie head of the caterpillar, and 

 are preceded by a whorl of long sette. A yellow dorsal tubercle, more prominently developed than those described, proceeds from 

 the penultimate segment. A band of yellowish green runs immediately above the legs, of which the abdominal are green with 

 brown terminations, distinctly ciliated above ; whilst the caudal are brown, spotted with white. The head, furnished with 

 red mandibles, is of a shining brownish green. The length of the female caterpillar, when full fed, is 5 inches; that of the 

 male smaller. 



The Cocoon is composed of a tough coriaceous substance, of equal thickness and strength throughout ; roundish oval in 

 form, dark brown in color, and about IJ inch in length. 



The Chrysalis (lig. 1, female) measures Is inch. The head and wing cases shining black, abdominal segments reddish 

 brown, the form ovoid and robust iir proportion to its length. 



