THERETRA. By Dr. A. Seitz. 
565 
H. scrofa Bsd. (= porcia Wllgr., bernardus Koch, ignea Btlr.) (67 c). Forewing very uniformly dark 
chestnut-brown, but with a peculiar greyish-violet lustre. Hindwing red with a speckled distal margin; inner 
margin without a dark marginal stripe. Australia and Tasmania; common near Sydney. 
67. Genus: Theretra Hbn. 
More than two thirds of this genus, which has been described in Vol. II, p. 258, are Indo-Australian. 
9 or 10 forms also occur in the palaearctic region, one third being Ethiopian. It contains larger and mostly 
more strongly built species than the preceding genus, and many number in their patria among the most common 
Sphingidae. 
Th. nessus Dry. (= equestris F .) (Vol. II, pi. 42 c). Forewing light olive, hindwing black, in the distal 
portion of a bright light yellow; at once recognizable by the lustrous golden yellow abdomen exhibiting an olive 
dorsal stripe which is posteriorly spotted whitish. — Adult larva very large and stout, pale bluish-green or rusty 
earth-brown, finely strewn, with a large though blind (not pupilled) fictitious eye on the 4th ring. On the leaves 
of Dioscorea batatas and other Dioscoreae. The imago is common in many districts of India and China, where 
it is often met with in gardens and streets; but in the daytime it is shy and flies away, as soon as one tries 
to capture it. From Ceylon and North India across Malacca, New Guinea and the Sunda Is. to the Louisiads, 
and across China and Japan to the Philippines, as well as in North-East Australia. The insects vary much, 
though not in a geographically limited way. 
Th. rhesus Bsd. ( = lucasi S?i. nec Wkr., insularis Swh., javanica Rothsch., cyrene Huwe) (67 b) is not 
larger than the smallest nessus ; of a much darker colouring; a dingy brown replaces the soft olive tint of nessus ; 
forewing with 6 oblique lines from the apex and with a distinct central dot; instead of the yellow marginal area 
of nessus there is here a feeble greyish-green brightening on the otherwise black hindwing. Abdominal sides 
not golden. — Larva, according to Semper, exactly like a small larva of nessus. — From Java across Sumatra 
to the Salomons Is. 
Th. boisduvali Bugnion (= clotho Bsd. p. p., punctivenata Btlr., sumatrensis J. & K., butus Hmps. 
p. p.) (Vol. II, pi. 42 d). This Sphingida occurring also in the south-eastern palaearctic districts has been 
described in Vol. II. p. 259. It is intermediary between the two preceding species; forewing striped as in 
rhesus, but the hindwing with large pale yellow spots in the anal region. Beyond the palaearctic frontier: across 
the whole of India and Ceylon, from Sikkim to the Sunda Is., and on the continent to the east as far as Assam. 
Th. polistratus Rothsch. (56 C d), from New Guinea, is a species quite similar to boisduvali which it 
represents in the Papuan district. The stripe on the forewing extending from the apex obliquely to the inner 
margin is narrower and less prominent, as we easily see from the figure. The species is apparently very rare. 
Th. queenslandi Luc. (= potentia Drc.) (67 c) is near to the two preceding species, but in the forewing 
there is but one dark, thick oblique stripe from the apex; hindwing slightly brightened up in the inner-marginal 
and distal-marginal areas. On the sides of the thorax a thick white stripe. North-East Australia (Brisbane). 
Th. clotho Dry. (Vol. II, pi. 42 d). Like queenslandi, but even the last oblique stripe in the forewing 
is but feebly marked. Only the central dot is still distinct. Anal spots on hindwing light yellow, as in boisduvali. 
manuselensis J. & T. differs from typical clotho in the oblique line through the forewing being incurved near 
the apex (more distinctly so in the $), so that a sharp angle is produced with a short oblique branch from the 
costa. Under surface more reddish. Central Ceram. - Larva green or brown. On the 4th ring a fictitious eye 
with a horizontal slit-pupil, behind this on each ring a blind eye below which there is a dark oblique shadow. 
On Ampelideae, in South China especially on Vitis vinifera, tenuifolia and inconstans; also found on Hibiscus 
and Cissus. The imago visits blossoms only in the late dusk, strongly humming in its flight. The specimens 
from the Indian and eastern palaearctic faunae are the typical clotho ; their range extends from Ceylon and 
North-West India to Japan and the Philippines. 
Th. celata Btlr. (= luteocincta Luc., cloacina Misk., queenslandi Misk. nec Luc., lifuensis Rothsch.) 
(67 d). Separated from clotho (Vol. II, pi. 42 d) by its dull, dingy yellowish-brown coating; the whitish lateral 
stripe on the thorax is dingy light grey; the oblique streak of the forewing is more distinct, proximally bordered 
with light, the hindwing brightened up in the whole marginal portion. From Queensland across New Guinea 
and the Moluccas to the Salomons and Loyalty Is. — Specimens from Timor and Sumba are intermediary 
between clotho and celata. In Ceram and Dutch New Guinea celata and clotho fly together. 
Th. gnoma F. (= butus Cr., gonograpta Btlr.) (67 d) entirely resembles celata excepting the course of 
the oblique line before the distal area; this line does not run into the apex, but almost parallel to the margin, 
then bending towards the costa before the apex, whilst in the latter there is a partition-streak. South India 
and Ceylon. 
scrofa. 
nessus. 
rhesus. 
boisduvali. 
polistratus. 
queens¬ 
landi. 
clotho. 
manuselen¬ 
sis. 
celata. 
gnoma. 
