Fabricius describes Papilio Pyramus as a new species of the genus from the drawings of the late Mr. Jones, of Chelsea, a gentleman of fortune who had long devoted his attention to this peculiar tribe of insects, the Papiliones, and whose labours tended in a very eminent degree to aid those of Fabricius. In return for this assistance, Fabricius affixed to each of those insects the names under which they were destined afterwards to appear before the world, a circumstance that may explain sufficiently the frequent references of the Fabrician writings to those drawings, first in his Species Insectorum, and subsequently in his Entomologia Systematica. It may be further added, that the whole of these drawings, together with the manuscripts in the hand-writing of Fabricius were long in our own possession, during the life-time of the very amiable proprietor, Mr. Jones, for the very liberal purpose of copying and making known to the public whatever might appear likely to us to promote the interest and advantage of the Science of Nature; and that the insect now before us is one of those very rare species copied for this purpose.
The specimen from which the painting of Mr. Jones was taken formed originally part of the collection of the lamented Mr. Yates, the ingenious author of an English translation of the Linnæan Fundamenta Entomologia, that appeared about forty years ago, and who lost his life by bathing in the river some short time afterwards.
There was a variety of this insect, pretty nearly but not exactly according with this in the collection of an old and well-known entomologist, the late Mr. Drury, a figure of which appeared shortly after the publication of the Fabrician writings as the true Papilio Pyramus. It was not precisely the same as it appeared to us from an inspection of the specimen in the cabinet of Mr. Drury. This insect is to be found represented in the 23rd plate of the third volume of the Exotic Insects of that author, published in the year 1782.
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London. Published as the Act directs, by E. Donovan, May 1, 1822.