﻿POMPEOPTERA ^EACUS. 



Ornithoptera Ehadamanthus, Boisduval, " Species General Lepidoptera," vol. i„ page 180, note 8 ( ¥ , toe ¥ var. a, nec 3 (1836) ? . 



„ „ Doubleday, Wesiwood and Hewitson, " Genera Diurnal Lepidoptera," vol. L, page 4, note 10 (1846) 3 ? . 



a , Horsfield and Moore, " Cat. Lep. E-India, Comp. Museum," vol. i„ page 88, note 1857) 3 ? . 



„ „ Reakirt, ' : Proc. Ent. Soc. Philadelphia," p. 444, n. 1 (1864) 3 ¥ . 



„ „ Moore, "Proc. Zool. Soc," p. 755 (1865). 3 ¥. 



„ „ Druce, "Proc. Zool. Soc," p. 108, n. 1 (1874). 3 ¥. 



„ „ Distant, "Rhop. Maiayana," p. 326. n. i. t. 27a, fig. 5 ( ¥ ), and p. 327. f. 106 {3) (1885). 



„ „ Wood-Mason and Niceville, "Journal Asiatic Soc. Bengal," p. 373, n. 172 (1886). 3 ?• 



„ ,. Elwes and Niceville, "Journ. As. Soc. Bengal," p. 438, n. 148. (1886). 3 ¥. 



„ „ Elwes, "Trans. Ent. Soc. London," p, 422, n. 393 (1888). 3 ¥ . 



„ „ Watson, "Journal As. Soc. Bengal," p. 53, n. 205 (1891). 3 ¥ . 



„ „ Swinhoe, "Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond.," p. 311, n. 371 (1893). 3 ? . 



„ „ Leech, " Butterflies of China," p. 513 (1893). 3 ¥ . 



„ „ de Niceville, " Gazetteer of Sikkim," p. 170 n. 457 (1S94). 3 7 . 



Papilio Rhadamanthus, Gray, "Cat. Lep, Ms. B. Mas." vol. i., p. 6., n. 14 (1852). 



„ „ Gray, "List Lep. Ins. B. Mus." vol. i., p. 5, n. 16 (1856). 



Ornithoptera .ffiacus, Felder, " Wien. Ent. Mon." vol. iv., p. 225, n. 71 (i860). ¥. 

 Papilio (Eacus, Felder, "Verh. z. b. Ges. Wien," p. 291, n. 33 ? . 



Ornithoptera Rhadamanthus, v. Amphrisius, Kirby, " Syn. Cat. Diurn. Lep." p. 520 (1871) 3 . 



„ „ Staudinger and Schatz, " Exot. Schmett.," vol. i., p. 4. (1884). 3. 



„ „ Fickert, " Ueber die Zeichn. Gatt. Orn.," p. 733, 743 (1889). 3. 



„ „ var. Thomsoni, Bates, "Thomson's Straits of Malacca," p. 546(1875). 3. 



„ Minos, Obertbiir, "Et. d'Ent., vol iv., p. 32, n. 14 (1879). 



„ ■> i> vol. xi., p. 14 (1886). 



Papilio (Ornith.) Rhadamanthus, Niceville, "Journ. As. Soc. Bengal," p. 98, n. 255 (18S3). 3 ? . 

 Ornithoptera CEacus, Manders, " Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond., p. 535 (1890). 3 ¥ . 

 Troides OEacus, Rothschild, "Novit. Zoological," v. 223, n. 20 (1895). 3 ¥ •* 



Ornithoptera 03acus, Moore, "Lepidoptera Indica," vol. v., p. 148, plate 422, f. 1, ia (igoi-1903). 3 ¥ . 

 Pompeoptera .Eacus, Rippon, in Wyteman's " Genera Insectorum," Fam. Papilionidaa, Sec. Troides," p. 14. (1902). 



In the examination of a large series of the oriental 

 species ^Eacus, 2 , we are at once struck by the amount 

 of variation within very restricted limits to which the 

 different examples are subject : and the fact also that 

 though no two specimens are quite alike, yet the wing 

 patterns are always practically identical one with the 

 other. The differences appear to be on the anterior wings in 

 the width of the adnervular discal rays, the amount of 

 sordid white in the cell, and the more or less broad and 

 graceful character of the submedian light area. On the 

 secondary wings the discal black marks between the veins 

 vary in length and breadth in the different examples — 

 thereby continually modifying the amount of the yellow 

 area, though not to any great extent, and the appearance 

 of the indented submarginal band is also slightly affected. 

 I give, on the plate devoted to this species figures of Felder's 

 type, which may be compared with those drawn from 

 examples in my own collection, to illustrate my point. It 

 is also of interest to note the remarkably close resemblance 

 of the 2 2 of this species, to some of those of Cerberus, 

 another widely distributed oriental form. The $ $ of 

 iEacus exhibit very little tendency to variation — though 

 the bodies of no two examples are alike in the way in 

 which the yellow and black are distributed ; but the $ S 

 of Cerberus, on the posterior wings, vary incessantly in the 

 number of the black orbicles on the disc, as is the case 

 very much with the Javan Pompeus. 



8 . Primaries deep velvety black ; the light adnervular 

 rays extend from the 3rd median branch up the disc to the 

 third subcostal vein ; they are broad in the middle portion 

 of the disc, and extend in length nearly close to the outer 

 margin of the wings ; they are all semi-diaphanous, and 

 denseley but minutely scaled, so as to greatly subdue their 

 whiteness into a nitid grey : the light of any bright object 

 can be seen through these rays, when the insect is held it : 



if the insect is held over a dark object all the rays appear 

 very dark grey, but as a matter of fact they take the 

 colour faintly of any object over which the wing is placed. 



This observation it may be here stated, applies very 

 much to the rays of some of the other forms or the Genus 

 Pompeoptera ; only a faint trace of this nitid grey is found 

 at the distal end, and halfway along above the median 

 nervule, in any of the examples ; the veins of the wings 

 are very black and stout, but the submedian nervure is 

 only just traceable in the black of the lower part of the 

 wing. The under surface of the primaries is nearly as 

 above, except that the cell contains a larger area of grey : 

 the central black band is divided by grey, the pseudoneura 

 are well shown, the adnervular rays are broader and 

 lighter, and the space above the submedian vein is partly 

 occupied with the same intensity of grey — the interior 

 margin alone being quite black : thus the underside is 

 altogether much lighter than the upper side. 



The posterior wings are a rich silky golden yellow ; the 

 veins are very black — the median and discocelluar nervules 

 being the stoutest ; the base is black ; a submarginal 

 band of three rather long conical, one dentate, and two 

 lunate black marks constitute the black outer margin of 

 the wing— the three lowest with a bordering and apex of 

 black scales ; the submedian area and abdominal fold are 

 black. 



The undersurface as above, except that the hind sub- 

 marginal black marks are more uniform in shape and with- 

 out any bordering of black scales ; the submedian black is 

 narrow from the base till half-way, when it broadens out 

 to the 3rd median vein, with a small triangulate yellow 

 spot near to the inner angle ; and the abdominal margin is 

 silky rufous ; the abdominal marginal fringe of black hairs 

 inconspicuous. 



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