Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 2Grey, George
History
Journals of Two Expeditions of Discovery in North-West and Western Australia, Volume 2
Grey, George
Natural history -- Australia -- Western Australia; Western Australia -- Discovery and exploration
(**Footnote. At first, from the body being so much more slender than in
the fenestrated specimens, I thought it might be the male but, on showing
the specimen to Mr. Edward Doubleday, he pronounced it a female.
The H. thyridion is distinguished from the H. fenestrata by its larger
size, and a third yellowish white interrupted band close to the base of
the first pair of wings; the fenestrated spot is narrower, more lunated,
and is much smaller in proportion than in the corresponding part in Dr.
Boisduval's species. The body beneath is girded with four yellowish white
and black bands, the black bands are continuous on the sides, while the
white pass on the sides into the deep ochry-yellow of the upper side; the
abdomen has a single row of black spots (at least seven) down the middle,
one at the base of each segment, the two nearest the thorax have a
whitish spot behind them.
The female of this species brought by Captain Grey has the upper wings
more developed; the three interrupted whitish bands are composed, at
least the two outer, of three spots, larger than in the female; the
little bluish white spots on the deep brown part of the under side of the
lower wing are also nearly obsolete; the sides of the body are not
fringed as in the male; and the apical tuft is very small indeed.
The most marked character however is the want of the fenestrated
diaphanous spot in the upper wing, which being a most prominent
characteristic in the examples of this species already recorded, makes it
highly probable that they have all been females, and that this is the
first time that the male has been alluded to.
The beautifully striated and waved surface of the glassy spot, taken in
connection with the fact of the noise made by the insects possessing it,
would seem to indicate that the fenestrated spot must act as a tympanum.
Cossodes lyonetii, new species. Illustration 26 Insects 9.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account