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PLATE XXII.
( O R D E R — L E P I D O P T E R A . SECTION—NOOTUBNA.
F I G U R E 1.
FAMILY—BOMBYCIDÍE, LEAOII.)
ACTIAS MiENAS. DOUBLEDAT.
(Lower Figure.)
Actias aUs omnibus paUide vii'idi-flaTis, marginibus extemis i-ufescentibus, anticis costa feiTugiuea, cinereo lavata,
hmula magna discoidali fascia transversa báseos, alteraciue postica indistincta valde undata rtrfescentibus ; posticis
longe caudatis ocelio parvo discoidaH, nigro antice cincta, fascia pone medium ñexuosa obsoleta rufescente.
Expansion of the fore wing's nearly 7 inches ; length of the hind wmgs and tails inches.
Inhabits SiDiet. In the CoUections of the British Museum, and W. W. Saunders, Esq.
STNONYME.—Actias Masnas, E. Doubleday, in Annals Nat. Hist., Febi-uary, 1847, p. 95.
DBSCMÍTION.—Anterior mngs very broad and rounded, pale greenish-yellow, the costa, except at
the apex, ferruginous, sprinkled with cinereous atoms; outer margin rufescent; near the base a transverse
narrow band of the same colour', darkest next the costa, and beyond the middle a very indistinct
flexuous reddish streak, a large lunule at the end of the cell connected mth the costal Aitta, of the
same colour with this at its origin, then much paler externally, nearly black internally, marked with
a very dehcate white line. Posterior wings of the same colom' as the anterior, with very long tails,
which are wrinkled at the extremity, sprinkled with ferruginous from the base nearly to the middle;
the outer margin of the wing, and of the basal half of the tail ferruginous. In the middle of the disc
is a small black lunule di-\dded by a white line, from a nearly cii'cular ocellus of a pale fulvous coloiu-;
darkest towards the base, between this and the margin, is a very obsolete waved striga.
Below, the anterior wings want the basal striga, the costa is paler, the lunule is replaced by a transverse
ovate small fulvous ocellus, and the flexuous band is more distinct, as it also is on the posterior
Avings, which have the ocellus more distinct. Head and antenna; pale. Thorax greenish-yellow, the
front part broadly ferruginous, sprinkled with cinereous; legs vinous-red, with pale spots. Abdomen
pale greenish-yellow.
OBSEIIVATIONS.—The accompanying figme of this very fine insect is copied from a specimen kindly
communicated for representation by W. W. Saunders, Esq., F.L.S., which diíFers in some respects from
Mr. Doubleday's description of the species, recently published. It belongs to the genus Actias,
separated by Dr. Leach, which has for its types Bombyx Selene and B. Luna; from the former of these
species it is distinguished by the much greater elongation of the tails, the differently shaped wings,
the large lunate mark on the fore wings, &c.
Tills is ccrtainly one of the finest of the recent additions to the list of oriental Lepidoptera; but
I am informed that Dr. Boisduval possesses a species of this genus from Madagascar with much
longer tails to the hind wings.
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