MR.  W.  S.  MACLEAY  ON  THE  NATURAL  HISTORY  OF  URANIA.  187 
recognised  by  its  red  head  and  spotted  black  prothorax.  In  form  it  agrees  very  closely 
with  the  caterpillar  of  Agarista,  as  figured  by  Lewin,  but  is  more  simple,  having  no 
hinder  protuberance  on  the  penultimate  segment. 
The  pupa  of  Ur.  Fernandince  is  not  at  all  angular,  hke  that  of  most  diurnal  Lepido- 
ptera,  but  agrees  with  them  in  being  rather  gaily  coloured.  It  is  of  a  yellowish  brown 
colour,  the  thorax  being  of  a  rather  paler  tint,  and  the  wings  of  a  darker  hue  than  the 
rest  of  the  body.  The  antenna,  proboscis,  eyes,  legs,  and  nervures  of  the  wings,  being 
of  a  dark  brown  hue,  are  particularly  visible  in  this  chrysalis.  The  head  is  rounded, 
and  is  marked  with  three  or  four  black  spots.  The  mesothorax  has  four  or  five  very 
conspicuous  black  spots  interspersed  with  points,  and  the  abdominal  segments  are  each 
marked  transversely  with  from  about  twenty  five  to  thirty  five  black  linear  dots. 
The  perfect  butterfly  is  truly  diurnal,  and  very  swift  in  its  flight.  It  is  not  found  in 
the  interior  of  the  island,  but  it  may  be  seen  in  plenty  to  haunt  gardens  as  far  as  two 
or  even  three  leagues  from  the  coast,  sporting  in  the  sun  and  sucking  the  flowers  of 
Oestrum,  diurnum,  Ehretia  tinifolia,  and  other  odoriferous  trees  of  small  stature.  In  hot 
weather  and  about  midday  it  flies  particularly  high,  and  may  be  even  observed  sur- 
mounting the  tops  of  the  highest  members  of  the  forest.  In  the  afternoon  1  have  often 
seen  it  sport  about  some  capriciously  chosen  spot,  such  as  a  particular  branch  of  Mango, 
where  it  would  always  return  to  alight  on  almost  the  same  leaf,  in  a  manner  that  has 
sometimes  reminded  me  of  a  well  known  habit  of  the  Muscicapce  ^ .  Thus  does  our  insect 
spend  whole  hours  until  sunset,  when  the  bats^  usually  terminate  its  diversion  and  life. 
On  the  approach  of  winter  it  may  be  seen  at  times  alighting  on  hedges,  when  specimens 
are  more  easily  captured.  The  flight,  however,  of  Ur.  FernandincB  is  always  strong, 
and  in  starts  like  that  of  FringillidcB.  When  it  alights  on  a  leaf  all  the  four  wings  are 
expanded  horizontally,  and  rarely,  if  ever,  take  a  vertical  position  like  those  of  other 
species  of  the  Linnsean  genus  Papilio  when  at  rest^. 
'  And  also  of  Apatura  Iris  among  the  true  diurnal  Lepldoj)tera  of  Great  Britain. 
*  Principally  the  Phyllostoma  Jamaicense,  Horsf.  By  the  way,  in  the  second  edition  of  Cuvier's  '  Regne 
Animal'  this  author  says  of  the  Phyllostomes ,  "  Ce  sont  des  animaux  ....  qui  ont  I'habitude  de  sucer  le  sang  des 
animaux."  I  can  only  say  that  this  is  not  only  quite  untrue  as  respects  the  Cuban  species,  but  perfectly  im- 
possible. The  Phyll.  Jamaicense,  for  instance,  lives  on  fruits  and  winged  insects,  in  search  of  which  last 
it  will  often  be  found  in  bed-rooms.  The  Vampire  Bat  of  South  America  is  also  a  Phyllostoma  of  Cuvier  and 
GeofFroy ;  but  until  some  person  having  pretension  to  the  name  of  naturalist  shall  establish  the  fact  on  personal 
observation,  I  shall  as  readily  believe  that  it  sucks  the  blood  of  men  as  that  the  Caprimnlgus  sucks  the  milk  of 
goats.  I  should  not  be  surprised  if  the  mischief  now  attributed  to  the  Vampire  shall  be  found  to  be  the  work  of 
some  Annulose  animal,  perhaps  an  Annelide,  like  that  which  infests  Ceylon,  Sumatra,  &c.  Time  will  show ;  but 
I  have  travelled  enough  to  know  that  if  natives  are  bad  observers  of  nature,  the  great  majority  of  travellers  are 
still  worse. 
3  There  is  in  all  probability,  therefore,  an  error  in  the  attitude  given  by  M.  Guerin  to  Ur.  Boisduvalii  in  fig.  I . 
of  his  plate.  The  wings  of  Urania,  in  fact,  are  of  that  kind  of  complication  which  Messrs.  Kirljy  and  Spence, 
in  their  excellent  Orismology,  call  Alx  exteiisa;  patentes. 
VOL.  I.  2  c 
