CASTNIA. By Dr. E. Strand. 
7 
rather short, middle and hind legs long, the hind tibiae with two pairs of strong spurs with which the insects 
can scratch severely. Abdomen strong, long, in the <$ only slightly thinner than in the $, in which it bears a 
protrusible ovipositor. Wings with entire margins, without teeth or other appendages, obtusely triangular 
(forewing) or nearly circular (hindwing). Veins very regular and almost parallel, the cell short, especially 
that of the hindwing, both cells traversed by veins. On the forewing the subcostal branch 1 originates close 
beyond the base of the wing, 2 directly behind .the middle of the cell, 3 before and 4 at the upper angle 
of the cell; between the posterior median branch and the submedian there is always an intermediate vein 
which sometimes originates at the base, but often begins close before the middle of the wing. The submedian is 
sometimes connected by a bar with the hindmarginal vein, if the latter is present. In detail the venation 
shows numerous variations, especially in the shape of the discocellulars of the forewing. Characteristic of the 
insects is the remarkably uniform direction of the always very long branches of the veins, which run exactly 
parallel one with the other. 
The larvae of only very few species are known; they are predominantly bare, with short bristles only 
on the back of the segments, with soft skin, strong nuchal plate and small retracted head. The six thoracical 
legs short, the eight abdominal legs broad, the anal pair elongate. They live in stalks, fruits or bulbs. Pupae 
elongate-ovate, stumpy; eyes prominent, limb-cases loosely connected, back of abdomen with strong belts of 
hooks; sometimes short bristles cover the larger portion of the surface of the pupa; many species in long silk- 
lined tunnels in or on the ground. 
Genus : Castnia F. 
The genus Castnia, which is here treated in the usual broad sense of the name, contains those forms 
which may be regarded as the most typical representatives of the family Castniidae. It will therefore suffice 
for our purposes to draw attention to the description of the family without giving a special systematic cha¬ 
racteristic of the genus, particularly as only one genus of Castniidae occurs in the region with which we are deal¬ 
ing. Cf. also what was said about the Castniidae in Vol. X. p. 1 of this work. As has already been mentioned 
in that place the attempts which have been made to split up the genus Castnia cannot be regarded as success¬ 
ful, and later authors have therefore retained the genus in its original conception, only one of the separated ge¬ 
nera, Gazera, being occasionally dealt with as distinct from Castnia. In the following pages I have also attempt¬ 
ed to keep the species of Gazera separate, but only as a group, as the distinctions do not appear to me to be 
sufficiently trenchant to be considered of generic value. My further attempts at dividing Castnia into smaller 
groups have only the purpose of rendering the arrangement more lucid and the naming of the forms more easy, 
and is of no importance as regards nomenclature. It is difficult as yet to draw any conclusion as to the rela¬ 
tionship and the systematic arrangement of the various species of Castniids, especially because we know 
scarcely anything about the early stages of these moths. 
I. Castnia s. str. 
Forewing more or less broad and triangular. 
(Species which are not known to me in nature are not included in this survey unless special infor¬ 
mation as to their relationship is given in the literature, but have been added in the appendix, p. 16. 17). 
A. Forewing with straight whitish median transverse band between the anal angle and the middle of the costa 
and whitish subapical markings. Hindwing with small white spots. 
C. daedalus Cr. (= cyparissias F.) is a species occurring in Guiana and the Amazon district, well daedahis. 
characterised by its size (expanse up to 180 mm). In its scheme of markings similar to geron, of which a figure 
is given; ground-colour above dull black, slightly suffused with olive, in the hindwing with two rows parallel 
to the margin of white or yellow rounded spots. -— The larva lives in Bananas. 
C. geron Roll. (1 a) is a much smaller species occurring in Brazil, in which the inner one of the two geron. 
rows of spots on the hindwing is only present in the costal half of the wing. 
C. preissi Stgr. (1 a), from the Amazon Valley, has only the anterior spot of the inner row; in the preissi. 
forewing three light subapical spots. 
B. Forewing with narrow white postmedian band parallel with the margin; hindwing with red, yellow or blue band, 
with or without red spots. 
C. cacica H. Schdff. (1 b), from Central America and Columbia, is most easily distinguished from the cacica. 
following 
C. papilionaris Wkr. (1 a), from Bogota, by the markings of the hindwing. Like Deuce (cf. Biol, papiliona- 
ris. 
