﻿POMPEOPTERA PLATENI, 



Ornithoptera Plateni, Staiidinssr, Correspondenz-Blatt des Entomologischen Vereins "Iris" zu Dresden. No. 5, p. 274 (1888). 

 0. Plateni, Dr. C. Fickert, Ueber die Zeichnungsverhaltnisse der Gattung Ornithoptera, page 762 (1889). 



This is probably one of the most remarkable and inter- 

 esting forms of the sub-genus Pompeoptera which has yet 

 been discovered and described. Although it seems to 

 claim a close affinity with several species, notably P. 

 Rhadamanlhiis, Haliphron, Criton, and still more Nephereus, 

 ■ — and in the colour reflections of the upper surfaces of 

 the 3 , with the 3 Hippolytus, it is still so distinct from 

 them all as justly to merit a specific separation, that 

 is to say, if we continue to regard the numerous forms 

 of Pompeoptera as so many independent species. It 

 would appear to be one of those instructive links between 

 the local forms of a widely ranging species which makes 

 it so easy to imagine that they all originated from the 

 same parents. Dr. Staudinger tells us that — 



" Four almost perfect specimens of this highly interest- 

 ing species were sent to him by their discoverer, Dr. 

 Platen, in whose honour he named them," and he goes on 

 to describe the 3 as distinguished from all known species 

 by the "black uppersides of the secondary wings, which 

 only on their upper portions have 2 yellow patches." 



[It will be seen, by referring to my plate, that these are 

 not really very extensive. At their narrowest they are 

 only 4 mm., at their broadest 7 mm., and at their 

 longest 20 mm. on the upper surface ; so that the yellow 

 occupies less than i-7th of the whole surface of the wing, 

 all the remainder being black, the dorsal portion of the 

 abdomen partaking of a broad continuation of the same 

 colour.] 



"The 3 " he continues, " stands very near to Nephereus 

 of Gray, but it has a still broader black margin on the 

 hind wings, and is very readily distinguished by the 

 totally black outer and inner borders, which exhibit no 

 yellow colour below the median nervure and the first 

 median nervule." 



[Its greatest extent is 22 by 18 mm., or roughly only 

 1 -4th of the area of the whole wing. A 3 Nephereus in 

 my own collection has, allowing for the larger size of the 

 hind wings, above 25 per cent, more yellow inclosed 

 within its borders, and this colour extends right to the 

 abdominal fold, which is not the case in Plateni — the 

 space between the submedian nervure and the 1st median 

 nervule being occupied by a silky dark brown, edged 

 with pale ochraceous-brown grey.] 



" — 0. Plateni stands nearest to Nephereus, Gray, which is 

 the Philippine form of Rhadamanthus, Boisd, found in 

 the southern portion of Asia," (in China) "and which 

 may eventually be regarded as a remarkable local 

 variety. The 3 in question measures 101 mm. from the 

 extreme points of the wings, (in one 3 the fore wing is 

 68 mm.) and is a little larger than my largest example of 

 Nephereus." 



I The length of the same wing in the plate is 64 mm., 

 or 5 more than the largest and 17 more than the smallest 

 3 Nephereus in my collection, or in that of Dr. F. 

 Walker.] 



' ' — Yet the form of the wing changes often in this species, 

 and it becomes almost worthless for the distinction of 

 allied varieties. The upper surface is really quite black, 

 like velvet, and the light grey longitudinal streaks between 

 the veins appear more or less faintly through, according to 

 the light ; only at the median branch stand outwards a 

 few grey scales on the black. On the under surface these 

 peculiar transparent light-grey stripes appear distinctly 

 as the bordering of the veins, although they are not quite 

 so broad as in Nephereus, and the very small fringe is less 

 perceptibly white." 



[In some specimens of the latter they extend almost or 

 quite to the posterior margin, and fill up i-4th of the 

 space between the 2nd and 3rd median nervules from 

 the cell.] 



" The hind wings are black : only on the front margin, 

 between the costal and subcostal, and between the 1st 

 and 2nd costal veins they are up to a pretty broad outer 

 margin silky yellow. The lower yellow stripe-spot is in 

 its outermost portion sprinkled with a few blackish 

 (Schwarzlichen) scales, whilst under the 2nd subcostal 

 nervure, and at the 2nd upper median nervule are a few 

 yellow scales on the black scarcely standing out (or 

 prominent — ' Kaum hervortretend.'J In the type, in the 

 abdominal fold of this species, when opened, will be found 

 a sordid brown hair, similar to that in Nephereus. The 

 under surface of the hind wing is yellow, with black veins 

 and brown black outer and inner borders. The outer 

 black border is not only twice as broad as in Rhadaman- 

 thus and Nephereus, but its two middle portions are inclined 

 inwards (sinuate), and deep down towards the inner have 

 a graduated sprinkling of yellow scales (allmdhlig gelb 

 bestreut ). The inner border is completely black below the 

 1st median nervule and the median nervure, with the 

 exception of a narrow yellow stripe at the base. 



2 . " The Primaries of the 2 are so similar to those of 

 0. Nephereus that they need no description. The white 

 grey basal parts of the veins and stripes at the end of the 

 discoidal cell are hardly less than in Nephereus ; on the 

 contrary the black outer border is decidedly broader, and 

 the yellow colour below the median nervure and the 1st 

 median nervule is entirely wanting. In the black outer 

 border of the hind wings in 2 2 2 are a couple of small 

 yellow patches above, whilst in a third 2 only a small 

 rudimentary patch is present. That the 6 yellow patches 

 in the centre, divided by the black veins, are smaller than 

 in Nephereus is seen by the presence on the black border 

 of 2 white-greyish patches on the upper portion of the 

 outer margin. The inner yellow spots are more or less 

 of a peculiar white or sordid grey, which is never the case 

 in any of my specimens of Nephereus ; also below the 

 median nervure remain more or less whitish-grey scales 

 which in one 2 form a clear broad whitish-grey stripe, 

 sprinkled with a little black. Another exhibits close to 

 the end of the inner border, a small grey stripe ; the edges 

 (or fringes) of all the wings are more clearly speckled 

 (gescheckt) with white than in the case of the 3, although 



