127 



This insect has been subject to some unnecessary confu- 

 sion. Mabille, who described a $ and considered it to be 

 the d , formed the genus Toxidia to receive it, which is not 

 warranted. Of the species he says: — 



" 3 , 25 mm. Ailes noires, cote des anterieures un peu 

 rousse. Celles-ci off rent en outre trois petits points apicaux 

 en ligne droite dont 1' inter mediare plus petit, en outre on en 

 voit encore un dans le 4 e intervalle. Frange large, con colore 

 et luisante. Inferieures d'un noir fonce. Dessous semb- 

 lable ; intervalle 1, aux premieres et une partie du 2 e , 

 blanchatres. Disque des inferieures a reflet violatre. Palpes 

 et poitrine gris cendre, abdomen egalant les ailes inferieures." 



In 1905 Colonel Swinhoe identified it as Ilesperilla saxula, 

 Mab., and described the d under the name of saxula, but 

 which in reality refers to the d tyrrhus, excepting that he 

 mentions only 2 subapical spots (there are 3 in typical 

 tyrrhus ), and added as a footnote: — "Mabille's 9 tyP^ came 

 from Cooktown, and his description fits my examples very 

 well, considering the usual sexual differences." This identi- 

 fication is rather confusing, as the description of saxula on 

 under-side of hindwings is nothing like tyrrhus, which is 

 practically without markings, and cannot possibly be confused 

 with it. Mabille says of under-side of hindwings of 

 saxida : — 



"Les inferieures sont noiratres avec une bande basilaire 

 de deux taches jaunatre cerches de brim fonce, et une 

 mediane de taches semblables separee en deux groupes, Fun 

 de deux taches pres de Tangle anterieur, et 1' outre commen- 

 cant au dessus de la cellule et s'arretant aTespace abdominal." 



In 1904 Mabille, in his Monograph of the Hesperiadse 

 in Wystman's Genera Insectorum, fascd., p. 132, put his 

 species saxula under Godman and Salvins' genus Ilalotis, 

 with Costa Rica, Central America, as its habitat. This is 

 probably correct. Colonel Swinhoe says (Ann. Mag., N.H. 

 7, xvi., p. 615, 1905) : — "In the Biologia Insecta, Lep. Rhop., 

 ii., p. 505, pi. xcv., figs. 42, 43, 44, <5 (1900), a Hesperid from 

 Costa Rica is described and figured as the type of the genus 

 Halotis; but neither the description nor the figures represent 

 the Queensland insect. One of the Biologia examples, it is 

 said, is labelled as having been compared by Salvin with the 

 type of Hesperia saxula, Mab., a description of which could 

 not be found; this must refer to some Hesperid from Costa 

 Rica, so named by Mabille, which never was described and 

 published. It can have no reference to the Cooktown 

 insect." 



