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Show 1892.] THE LYCJENIDJE OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC. 441 THYSONOTIS CALEDONICA. Lyccena caledonica, Feld. Reise Nov., Lep. ii. p. 267, t. 33. f. 7 (1865). New Caledonia (Feld.) (Mus. D.). Mr. Kirby, in his catalogue (p. 346), places T. caledonica as a synonym of T. schaeffera, but the whole upperside of the male, with the exception of the anal angle of hind wings, is of a rich dark blue, in that respect resembling T. cepheis from the Solomon Islands, but darker. The underside of hind wing is a most brilliant rich dark gold. The uppersides of the females of T. schaeffera, T. cepheis, and T. caledonica are practically all the same. JAMIDES, Hiibn. The species of this genus from the South Sea Islands have been supposed to occur only in their typical localities, but the numbers obtained by Mr. Mathew and Mr. Woodford prove that this is not the case-J. woodfordi having been received from Fiji, the New Hebrides, and Tonga Islands. All the species are very nearly alike on the undersides, but although I have before me a good series of most of the species I am unable to say that the colours merge one into another. JAMIDES CANDRENA. Lyccena candrena, Herr.-Schaff. Stett. ent. Zeit. 1869, p. 74. Lampides candrena, Butl. P. Z. S. 1874, p. 285. Viti Levu I., Ovalau I., Vanua Valava I., Fiji Is. (Herr.-Schaff.). The only specimen I have seen is one in the British Museum which Mr. Butler informs me was sent by Herrich-Schaffer under his name. The wings appear to be exactly the same shade of blue as in J. pulcherrima, but the spots on the hind margin of secondaries seem to be absent, and the blue extends to the apex of the wing. Judging from Herrich-Schaffer's description I should have identified the insect which stands under the name J. woodfordi as his species, because, first, he states thatitisnear L. kankena, Feld., which, according to Dr. Felder, is similar to his L. nemea in the coloration of the upperside, and, secondly, no black borders are mentioned in the male ; now in the series of J. woodfordi before m e several specimens have the borders so narrow as to be almost imperceptible, and until some one is able to compare the museum example with the actual type it is impossible to be certain what J. candrena really is. Mr. Miskin, Ann. Queensland Museum, no. 1, p. 51 (1891), states that L. candrenais a synonym of L. ( = Jamides) astraptes, Feld., and on p. 54 gives N . Hebrides as a locality for L. bochus, Cr. There are specimens in Messrs. Godman and Salvin's collection of J. astraptes from Amboina, Ceram, and Philippine Islands; all these have the costal portion of the hind wings of a lighter and more shining blue than the rest of the wings, in that respect differing from all the island forms noted in this paper and resembling the Indian L. bochus, from which they principally differ in having narrower black apical borders. |
