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DORATIFERA[1] VULNERANS.
PLATE XXII. Fig. 5.
Bombyx vulnerans, Lewin's Lepid, of New South Wales, pl. 4.
It is much to be wished that Lewin had supplied us with a more minute description of this insect in its different states, that no doubt might exist with regard to the place it ought to occupy, and that its generic characters might be given in detail. There can be no doubt, however, but that it belongs to the same subsection of the Arctiidæ as Limacodes, and indeed a pretty close analogy can be traced between its caterpillar and some of those of the South American Limacodes. The singular formation of the caterpillar, and the unusually thick body of the moth (a property for which the South American species are no way remarkable, although their larvæ are so massive), sufficiently justify its separation generically from the other kinds, even without adducing more minute particulars.
The sexes of the perfect insect are very much alike, the male being rather smallest, the expansion
- ↑ From δορατιον, hastile, and φερω, fero.
