1895.] L. de Niceville & Dr. L. Martin — Butterflies of Sumatra. 509 



records (c) 21 amphrysus flavicollis, Druce, (& 2 ), ab. rujicollis, Butler, from 

 Sumatra. 



571. Tkoides (Pompeoptem) cuneifera, Obertnur. 



Ornithoptera. amphrisius, Fabricius, ab. cuneifera, Oberthur, Etudes d'Ent., 

 vol. iv, p. 110, n. 9 (1879). 



Papilio {Ornithoptera) ritsemze, Snellen, Notes from the Leyden Museum, vol. xi, 

 p. 153 (1889). 



Ornithoptera ritsemx, var. sumatrana, Hagen, Iris, vol. vii, p. 19, n. 5 (1894). 



Hagen as ritsemse, var. sumatrana. Found from January to July 

 only at liigh elevations to the south of Bekantschan and at Soengei 

 Batoe. It is rare, as Dr. Martin in thirteen years obtained only three 

 males and two worn females. He notes " That the Sumatran race 

 of 21 ritsemse, originally described from Java, differs from Javau 

 specimens in not having the two cuneiform velvety dark brown spots 

 on the upperside of the abdomen ; the forewing is coloured and marked 

 exactly like Javan examples ; the hindwing has the submarginal row 

 of dusky powdered spots so very conspicuous and complete in Javau 

 specimens very slightly indicated, faint, and reduced to one or two 

 only, in Sumatran examples." Rothschild does not allow this species 

 specific rank, but gives it in his exhaustive paper in " Novitates 

 Zoological," vol. ii, p. 232 (1895), entitled "A Revision of the Papilios 

 of the Eastern Hemisphere, exclusive of Africa," under Troides amphrysus, 

 Cramer, as (d), T. amphrysus sumatranus, Hagen. Unfortunately this 

 paper only reached me when the whole of the present article was in 

 print, so that on this occasion I am not able to give it full justice. 



All Troides are true inhabitants of the forest, but the yellow species 

 (Pompeoptera) in both sexes are very fond of flowers, Hibiscus, Ixora, 

 and Poinciana pulcherrima, and so approach houses and are seen in the 

 gardens, but they never settle on roads. T, brookiana (Trogonoptera) 

 on the contrary never settles on flowers, but only on damp spots on 

 roads and also near houses on manure heaps and kitchen middens. All 

 of them were very appropriately named geuerically Ornithoptera by 

 Boisduval, as on the wing they really look very muoh like birds, especially 

 T. brookiana, which when sailing high over a road or in the forest has 

 a most striking resemblance to the small and common Swift of the 

 tropics. Usually they fly slowly, bnt if pursued their flight becomes 

 extremely rapid, so that they are soon borne out of reach and sight. 

 They never entirely settle on flowers, but seize them with their 

 forelegs, they float above the flower by gently moving the wings for a 

 few seconds, when they seek another. They are strong fliers, as the 

 females in especial have to make long journeys to find the rare food- 

 plant, when so flying they keep high up in the air, doubtless to 



