﻿POMPEOPTERA PLATO. 



Ornithoptera Plato, Wallace, " Trans. Linn. Soc," V. 25, p. 40, n. 13 (1865). <s only. 

 Ornithoptera Plato, Wallace (Translated by Staudinger) " Iris " IV., p. 74 (1891). i . [As a local form of Criton from Timor] . 

 Papilio Plato, W. F. Kirby, " Syn. Cat. Diurnal Lepid.," p. 530. (1871). 

 Ornithoptera Plato, Rober, "Tijdschr. V. Ent.," XXXIV. p. 269 (1891). s ? . 

 Troides Plato, Rothschild, "Novitates Zoologicae," Vol. II., p. 209, n. 15 (1895). 

 Pompeoptera Plato, Rippon, " Section Troides " (in Wytsman's " Genera Insectorum," p. 13 (1902). 



Of the 3 of this species Wallace, in the Trans, of the 

 Linnaaan Society, remarks that " it resembles 0. Criton 

 very much, but the abdomen is almost wholly black 

 beneath ; that it has no red patches at the base of the 

 wings, or any red collar." But it will be shewn by the 

 following description, and by my figures that Mr. Wallace 

 was in error, probably from examining a worn specimen. 

 A figure of the 2 published by Felder under this name in 

 the " Wien. Ent. Mon.," must have been described and 

 named under a misapprehension, especially as he was 

 unaware of the locality in which it was found. 



3 . Anterior wings deep brown black ; the adnervular 

 light rays very much subdued and delicately darkened — 

 looking more like a series of grey-brown cloudings in the 

 black of the disc ; the veins are all, however, very 

 prominent. The undersurface resembles the upper, but 

 the light adnervular rays are broader, nearly confluent, 

 and bluish-grey ; this gray also encroaches within the cell, 

 and the pseudoneura are shown prominently passing 

 through the grey area ; a few scattered grey atoms are 

 found just above the submedian vein, at the posterior angle 

 of the wing. 



Posterior wings. The central golden-yellow area 

 occupies one half of the cell, and about one half the disc 

 of the wing — is lunated towards the entire outline between 

 each vein — and runs diagonally across the wing towards 

 the basal or inner-marginal directions, its greatest width 

 being double the area of the dark portion extending to- 

 wards the base ; all the wing except the yellow area is a 

 deep velvety-black, shot with a grey sheen. The under- 

 surface is similar to the upper, except that the inner out- 

 line of the yellow in the cell is somewhat sinuate ; the 

 fringe lunules of all the wings, on both surfaces, are white. 



The thorax, head, and abdomen above are black ; 

 underside of the pronotal collar is red, antenna? black ; 

 thorax with the basal red patch ; dorsum of abdomen black 

 except the last 5 annulations, 4 of which are partially 

 greenish-yellow — the anal valves brown ; legs black, long, 

 and slender. 



Length of costa 65 mms. ; of outer margin 55 and of 

 inner margin about 36 mms. ; greatest width 36 mms. ; 

 greatest width of posterior wing 30, and length 45 mms. 



Length of abdomen or antennae 23, and of thorax with 

 head 23 mms. 



Length 

 of legs : 



1st pair: femur 11; tibia 9; tarsi, 11 mms. 

 2nd ,, ,, 11 ; ,, 14 ; ,, 15 ,, 

 3 f d ,, 9; II J 15 



Hab. Oinainisa, Timor. 



2 . Anterior wing light brown ; i-3rd of the cell, distal 

 end, ochraceous white ; the discal rays broad and of the 

 same colour, subdued by brown atoms. 



Undersurface, as above, but the light portions whiter ; 

 fringe lunules ochraceous white. 



Posterior wing black, with a narrow discal and disco- 

 cellular band golden-yellow, but whitish towards the inner 

 margin ; a row of discal yellow spots, nearly obsolete ; the 

 anal angle ochraceous white. 



Undersurface of wing as above, the light yellow area, 

 and discal band of spots more distinct and white ; an 

 apical > shaped light mark ; the fringe lunules as on the 

 anterior wings. 



Head, thorax and abdomen above, brown black — the 

 latter short with yellow lateral continuations of the subdorsal 

 yellow, near the termination of the abdomen. Under 

 side of thorax with the legs black, long, and slender, and 

 the usual basal red patch ; abdomen yellow, but the 

 segments strongly accentuated with black. 



Length of costa 78, of outer margin 56, and inner 

 margin 44 mms. ; greatest width of posterior 38, and 

 length 54 mms. 



Length of abdomen or antennae 25, and of thorax with 

 head 22 mms. 



t t i r t fist pair: femur, 10; tibia, 10 ; tarsi, 13 

 Le "S th ° f \ e - s 2nd,, „ 12 „ 15 



with trochanters |^ 



Hab. Oinainisa, Dutch Timor. 

 From the Tring Museum. 



15 ; 



20 

 16 



3° 



