180  MR.  W.  S.  MACLEAY  ON  THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  URANIA. 
accuracy  in  nomenclature,  namely,  the  attaching  a  name  to  a  published  figure  without 
any  description ;  or,  which  is  quite  as  bad,  giving  a  loose  untechnical  description  in 
some  modern  tongue.  Our  neighbours,  the  French,  are  the  most  to  blame  for  these 
doings,  w^hich  proceed  from  sheer  indolence ;  for  surely  it  does  not  require  a  week's 
study  of  the  lowest  rudiments  of  Latin  to  word  a  precise  technical  description,  that 
will  both  determine  the  species  and  be  intelligible  in  every  part  of  the  civilized  world. 
Let  those  who  approve  of  the  vague  diffuseness  of  their  mother-tongue,  give,  if  they 
please,  a  description  in  this  also;  but  the  Latin  character  is  indispensable  if  we  wish  to 
secure  credit  for  our  labours. 
I  shall  now  cite  Godart's  description  of  Ur.  Sloanus  from  the  *  Encyclopedic  Metho- 
dique,'  tom.  ix.  p.  709,  in  order  that  we  may  compare  it  more  readily  with  my  insect, 
which  for  the  present  I  shall  call  Urania  Fernandin(s,  in  compliment  to  Her  Excellency 
the  Condesa  de  Fernandina,  a  lady  whose  varied  accomplishments  comprehend  the 
study  of  natural  history. 
"  Urania  Sloanus,  Godart. 
"  Uran.  alis  nigris ;  anticis  uirinque  lineis  transversis  fascidque  aureo-viridibus :  posticis 
supra  fascid  serratd  cupreo-rubrd. 
"  Papilio  Sloanus  Cram.  pi.  85.  fig.  E.  F. 
"  Papilio  Sloaneus  Herbst,  Pap.  tab.  51.  fig.  3.  4. 
"  Sloane  Jamaic.  Hist.  2.  tab.  239.  fig.  11.  12. 
"  Cette  Uranie  ....  a  entre  deux  pouces  et  demi  et  trois  pouces  d'envergure.  Ses  ailes 
sont  noires.    Les  superieures  ont  de  part  et  d'autre  six  a  sept  Ugnes  transverses  d'un 
vert-dore  brillant,  entre  lesquelles  il  y  a  une  bande  bifide  ou  trifide  du  meme  vert. 
"  Le  dessus  des  ailes  inferieures  est  traverse  dans  son  milieu  par  une  bande  d'un 
rouge-cuivreux  luisant.    Le  dessous  est  d'un  vert-dore,  avec  des  mouchetures  noires 
sur  la  cote  et  vers  I'extremite.    Les  queues  sont  noires,  ce  qui  distingue  encore  cette 
esp^ce  de  I'Uranie  Leilus. 
"  De  la  Jamaique." 
Our  Cuban  insect  may  be  described  as  follows  : 
Urania  Fernandina. 
Ur.  alis  nigris ;  anticis  utrinque  lineis  transversis  auro-viridibus,  supra  undecim  septimd 
bijidd,  subtus  sea;  humeralibus  latis  septimd  bifidd  octavd  longissimd  trifidd  reliquis 
apicalibus  filiformihus :  posticis  supra  fascid  haud  serratd  et  lineis  octo  brevibus  late- 
ralibus  transversis  auro-viridibus. 
This  Urania  attains  from  four  to  four  and  a  half  inches  of  expansion  of  wing.  The 
head  is  small  and  black,  with  a  golden  green  V  in  the  middle,  and  a  narrow  short  hne 
of  the  same  colour  bordering  the  eye,  which  has  a  black  coppery  lustre.    The  tergum 
