Nymphalis Hydaspes, Latr. & God. Enc. Méth. ix. p. 424. (nec Cat. Hydaspes, Boisd. Hist. Nat. Lep. 1. pl. 9. f. 2., Donovan Nat. Repos. vol. 2. pl. 60.)
Biblis Hesperia, Perty Delect. Anim. art. Bras. pl. 30. f. 4. a. b.
Habitat: Brazil.
Upper Side. Antennæ black. Eyes, thorax, and abdomen dark brown, nearly black. Anterior wings black, but of a fine shining blue at the base. A streak of a beautiful red colour crosses these wings from the middle of the anterior edges to the lower corners, stopping at a little distance therefrom. Posterior wings black, with a most beautiful blue patch on them next the body.
Under Side. Palpi black. Mouth white. Tongue and breast black. Abdomen white. Anterior wings nearly coloured as on the upper side, but next the body verged with white. A white streak also crosses them near the tips; and at a small distance from the body is placed a small round spot of a most beautiful red colour. Posterior wings black, with white lines running along the abdominal and outer edges. The centre is adorned with four small round spots, three blue, one white, surrounded by a white line in a oval form. Wings slightly dentated.
Drury referred this insect to the then unpublished Papilio Hydaspes, on the authority of Fabricius's handwriting, (his specimen having most probably been thus labelled by that author.) The authors of the Encyclopédie Méthodique also cite Drury's figure under Hydaspes. Fabricius, however, cites only the Banksian Cabinet, and Mr. Donovan's figure taken from the Banksian specimen, and published in the Naturalist's Repository, Vol. 2. Pl. 60. convinces us that Drury's insect is specifically distinct from that described by Fabricius, although evidently identical with the insect described as Hydaspes in the Encyclopédie Méthodique. Under these circumstances I have considered it most advisable to retain the name of Hydaspes for Drury's insect, under which name it was known for the space of ten years before the publication of the Fabrician Hydaspes, to which a new specific name must be applied. As there are several other nearly allied Brazilian species, it is not impossible that Fabricius, from recollection alone, applied the name of Hydaspes to Drury's specimen, having previously described the insect from the Banksian Cabinet, the under surface of which especially is very different from that figured by Donovan.
PLATE XVI.
NYMPHALIS HIPPONA.
Plate [XVI]. fig. 1, 2.