There is the greatest confusion respecting the specific names of this, and several nearly allied species, which would be very difficult to unravel. Drury considered this insect as a variety of Evippe, whilst Fabricius, Latrielle, and Godart, give it as identical with the Linnæan Pyrene, which opinion I have adopted, although I am by no means certain as to the identity of the species; the under side of the wings offering no trace of the central discoidal black spot existing in that species. M. Boisduval has not diminished the confusion, in his work just published, by giving a species from Guinea, under the name of Evippe (which Linnæus states is from China), with the erroneous observation, "Il est probable que les anciens auteurs auront confondu sous le nom d'Evippe trois ou quatre espèces Africaines."—Hist. Nat. Lépid. 1. p. 574.
CYNTHIA LAOMEDIA.
Plate [V]. fig. 3.
Order: Lepidoptera. Section: Diurna. Family: Nymphalidæ, Swains.
Genus. Cynthia, Fab. Vanessa p. Latr. et God. Papilio (Nymph. Gemmat.), Linn. Drury.
Cynthia Laomedia. Alis dentatis cinerascentibus lineis fuscis transversis undulatis ocellisque (quibusdam cœcis) serie posticâ digestis; anticarum sex, posticarum quinque. (Expans. Alar. 2 unc. 9 lin.)
Syn. Papilio (Nymph. Gemmat.) Laomedia, Linn. Syst. Nat. 2. 772. No. 145. Fabricius, Ent. Syst. III. 1. p. 98. No. 302. Cramer, pl. 8. f. 10. Herbst. Pap. tab. 174. f. 1. 2.
Habitat: China (Drury). East India (Linn.). Java (Enc. Méth.).
Upper Side. The wings are of a greyish purple and a little dentated. The anterior have on each four irregular black lines, running from the anterior edge near the body half way cross the wings, and six eyes on each, near the external edge, whose irides are white, some of which are oval, and one, being larger than the rest, is filled up with black and red; some are very faint. The posterior wings have six oval eyes on each, with white irides; three of which are more distinct than the rest, two of them being filled up with red and black. Two dark irregular lines run along and near to their external edges.
Under Side. The wings are rather paler than on the upper side. A small irregular line begins about the middle of the anterior edge of the superior wings, and running cross them and the inferior ones, meets below the body. The anterior wings have a distinct dark spot, and also a faint one. The posterior ones have two distinct red and black spots, and another very faint.