Considerably less than the preceding, the space between the tips of the wings seldom exceeding three inches; wings black, with pale coloured bands slightly tinged with green; viz. two towards the base, extending across both wings, the third very slender and short, the fourth forming a pretty broad central stripe bifid anteriorly, and terminating in a point near the middle of the hinder wings; beyond this are two transverse spots or rudimentary bands anteriorly, and lastly a macular one of rounded spots parallel with the hinder margin; the latter likewise extends along the hinder wings, the spots assuming a crescent shape; anal angle marked with an oblique vermilion spot; tail long, linear, and black. Under side brown, the design corresponding to that on the surface, but having a narrow stripe of red near the middle, placed in a dark band and edged with white on the anal angle: body black, with two white streaks on the thorax, the abdomen ringed with white above, and greyish-white beneath.
Inhabits Jamaica, Florida, and various parts of South America.
PLATE 5.
Lizars sc.
1. Leptocircus Curius.
1 Java. 2. Thais Medesicaste.
2 Europe &c.
LEPTOCIRCUS CURIUS.
PLATE V. Fig. 1.
Swainson’s Zoolog. Illus. 2d series, Pl. 106.—Boisduv. Spec. gener. 380.—Pap. Curius, Fabr.—Donov. Insects of India.—Erycina Curius, Godart, Ency. Meth.
This genus was first proposed by Mr. Swainson for the reception of a remarkable insect from Siam and Java, to which various situations had been assigned by different naturalists. In external aspect it has all the appearance of an Erycina, but, on examining the disposition of the nervures of the wings, the form of the palpi and antennæ, together with the structure of the feet, which are all complete in both sexes, its close affinity to the true Papiliones becomes apparent. The head and body are very thick; abdomen short; eyes large and salient; palpi very short, the articulations very indistinct; antennæ rather long, thickening at the extremity into a club which is slightly curved upwards. The anterior wings are nearly hyaline, and have the discoidal cell closed; the posterior folded longitudinally, and each drawn out into a very long tail curved at the extremity. The expansion of the wings, in the only known species, is about an inch and a half; the inner half of the superior pair black, traversed in the middle by a pretty broad green band; the exterior portion, consisting of a large triangular space, transparent, with the nervures and external border black. The inferior wings are black, edged externally with white, and having a central blue band in continuation of the anterior one. On the under side, the base of all the wings is whitish, and the abdominal margin of the under pair is marked with three curved white streaks: abdomen whitish beneath, and having a double row of black dots on each side. In the female the bands on the wings are white.
A few years ago this curious butterfly was to be found in very few cabinets, but it is now received not unfrequently.