"The chrysalis state lasts but a short time, as is the case with all those which are known to suspend themselves nakedly by the tail. At the end of about the tenth day the dark colours of the future butterflies begin to show through the delicate and transparent skin, and suddenly this skin bursts open near the head, and the newborn butterfly gradually extricates itself, and stretching forth its legs and clambering on to some surrounding object, allows its moist, thickened, and contracted wings to hang listlessly from the body."
The perfect insect appears in March and April, hibernated specimens being met with in the spring. It is a most striking species on the wing, and one which, when once seen, is not likely to be forgotten.
ANOSIA BOLINA, L.
(Diadema nerina, Butler, Butterflies of N. Z., p. 13. Female.—Papilio nerina, Fabr., Syst. Ent., p. 509, n. 277 (1775); Donovan, Ins. of New Holland, pl. 27, fig. 1 (1805). Papilio iphigenia, Pap. Exot., 1, pl. lxvii., figs. D, E, (1775). Var. Papilio proserpina, Cramer, Pap. Exot., 3, pl. ccxviii., figs. C, D, (1782). Male ? Papilio auge, Cramer, Pap. Exot., 2, pl. cxc., figs. A, B (1779).)
(Plate [XII]., fig. 7 ♂, 8 ♀, 9 under side.)
This fine species appears to be rare in New Zealand, but I think it has now occurred often enough to entitle it to a place amongst our native butterflies. The following is a list of the captures so far as I am able to ascertain them:—
From Mr. Eny's 'Catalogue of New Zealand Butterflies'[[46]] the first specimen taken appears to have been a male, which was captured by Dr. Sinclair, of Auckland, and sent to the British Museum before the year 1855. The Rev. Richard Taylor also caught one male specimen in his garden at Wanganui, and saw another, the only two he observed in thirty-four years. Dr. Baker saw one in his garden at Christchurch on lilac flowers, also a male. Mr. R. W. Fereday[[47]] records the capture of the first female specimen by a son of Mr. Thomas Tanner, near Napier, in January, 1876. On the 18th of March, 1885, Mr. R. I. Kingsley[[48]] took a fine female specimen in Nelson, and on the 25th of March, 1886, I saw another female specimen in the same locality; I also understand that quite a number of specimens of both sexes have been recently captured in the neighbourhood of Auckland.[[49]]
From the foregoing records, I think that there are very good reasons for regarding this as an indigenous species, as it is very improbable that such a large number of specimens would have been accidentally introduced to the various localities at so many different times.
The expansion of the wings of the male is 3½ inches, of the female 4 inches. On the upper side all the wings of the male are rich brownish-black, with a large white blotch in the middle of each, surrounded by a patch of brilliant flashing blue; there is also a small white spot near the apex of the fore-wings and a series of white crescent-shaped markings on the termen of all the wings. The fore-wings of the female are brownish-black, with a patch of deep orange-brown near the tornus; there is a series of four very large oval white spots on the costa, beyond the middle, a smaller white spot near the apex, and three rows of small white marks parallel to the termen; the hind-wings are brownish-black, with a broad white band across the middle, several small white spots, and a double series of white markings parallel to the termen; all the wings of the female have brilliant bluish reflections near the white spots. On the under side the wings of both sexes are rich brown with white markings, and a double series of white crescents on the termen.
The female appears to be very variable in almost every respect.