The Butterflies and Moths of Tenerife
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!t0jVU LC< < ( • J4-,J7 '7<[ A-v- ? THE BUTTERFLIES AD !fOTHS OF TE TERIFFE. BY A. E. HüLT WHITE. EDITED BY RA..SHLEIGH HOLT WHITE, YICE-PBESIDENT O.. THE 6ELBOllNE 6OCIETT. ILLU TRATED FROM THE AUTHOR'S DRAWDYGS. J!onbOll : L. REEVE & e O., PUBLISHERS TO TllE Ho~, COLO. lAL AND INDIAN GOVER:llENTS, 6, HE...TRIETTA STREET, COVE... YT GARDEN. Tnuun: HAlliLTON & CO., SANTA CRUZ. 1894 [All rights reul"ved.] z O ~8 'Ir"pa...a 'Yal71S Tfi ""p P71C""'71 1310"'~ """'1 l,."f)pcfJ"'OI(1'¡v' OiJ "I</>....Of, olí...' ap XflJ.l~" 'lrO"OS olín ".0...• fJJ.lI3POf, ·A7I.7I.' al.l Z,,/>t,pOIO 7I.1'Y0 'Ir".Co" ...af ci'¡"'as '!lICE.,POS cipl7/tT,p .,pa1ft,ICflP ¡,,,f)pcfJ...ovr HO)[ER, oa. iv. Omnia bene describere, qum in hoc mundo a Deo lacta, aut natur<ll ereatm viribus elaborata. fuerunt, opus cst non unius hominis, nee unius revi. Hine Faunm ct Florm utilissimm; hinc monographi prmstantissimi. SCOPOLI, Aun. Hist. ato TO ELIZABETH MARY ODLING IN 1l!E1l!ORY 01' MA.:<'Y HA.PPY DAYS SPEXT WITH HER AND HER F.A.TH1I:R THE LATE ALFRED SMEE, F.R.S. THIS BOOK lis beb'lcateb' by HER AFFECTIO .... ~ ATE FRIEND THE AUTHOR. Page PREFA.CE ix ~ INTRODGCTORY CRÁPTER 1 t e HINTS AN"D SUGGESTIONS ON ..lT ETS, BREEDHiG-CAGES, ETC. 11 .~ª ::> KILLING AND SETTINO BUTTERFLIES A.ND MOTRS, RELAXING j j SPECIMENS, ETC. 23 ~ PART 1. BUTTERFLIES 29 ::> ~ LIST OF BUTTERFLIES FOUND IN TENERIFFB 62 j 1 PART MOTRS ¡; n. 64 ·0 LI T OF :MOTRS FOGND IN TENERIFFE 93 j ApPENDIX A. 97 j B. 100 ~ " s C. 101 t " ~ D. 104 ~ " o bDEX 105 DE CRlPTION OF PLATE 10 LOlfDOlf : FU En Bl' GILD••T 41'fD IlIl'1YOTOlf. LD•• 8T. JonN'" BOUS., CLE.X.lfWELL, _.C. -- PREFAOE. W HEN the author 1eft Eng1and, in the autumn of 1892, for a winter's sunshine in Teneriffe, it was by no meana her intention to write on the Lepidoptera of that lsland. Soon after her arrival, however, she was struck by two things; the want oí any sort oí interesting out-door occupation (other than somewhat desultory riding ex peditions) experienced by her companions in exile, and the absence of any account oí the Lepidoptera oí the Canary lslands, which would enable col1ectors to name their specimens. It is her hope that the present pub lication may be, at 1east to sorne extent, the means of remedying these deficiences. To a detai1ed description of the Lepidoptera of Tene riffe, so far as they are at present known, an introductory XII Preface. The author desires to offer her be t thanks to , eñol' Don Ramon Gomez, of Puerto Orotava, for his kindne s and courtesy in placing bis large col1ection of Lepidoptera at her disposal for study and illustration. The Rev. O. A. Benthal1 has kindly given information upon specimens which he has netted and observed; and the autbor is also indebted to Dr. Zorolo, of Villa Orotava, who has lent one 01' two rare specimens for illustration. Kind assistance in naming sorne speci IDens bas been given by A. G. Butler, Pb.D., F.L.S., F.Z.S., and :MI'. W. F. Kirby) F.L.S., F.E.S., of ·the British Museum; and MI'. Bethune Baker, F.E. ., has been good enough to name some of the smaller moths. A. E. H. W. Novembe1' 1893. 1 TRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 1tIANY persons who know little or nothing about butter· fiies may be tempted to make a collection oI them when they find themselves in a semi-tropicalland, which yields in great profusion such beautiful creatures, whose brilliant colouring when grouped together has so pleasing an effect. To such, a slight sketch of the life of a butterfly may not be unacceptable. Butterflies and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera or Scale-winged insects. The different stages oí growth of these insects are called tha- Ovum. La1'va. Pupa. Imago, Egg, Caterpillar. ChrysaJis. Butterfiy. The body consists of three parts: the head, the thorax, and the abdomen. ':rhere are two pairs oí wings, the upper and the lower; or, as they are generalIy called, B. 2 The Bulte'J'jlies and J1.fotJzs 0./ Teneriffi. the fore and the hind wings. These are covered with a downy substance, like feathered scales, which are mo t beautiful when seen under a microscope, and vary much in formo It is in these that the colouring-matter resides, which gives the beautiful colour to different species. Lepidoptera have su legs; in some, however, the fore-legs are so short and inconspicuous that the inseet almost appears to have only four legs. The pro boseis or trunk is a long fiexible double tube through whieh the animal sucks the juices of the fiowers; it is curled up under the thorax like a watcb-spring, and ex pands at will. It varies much in length both in moths and butterfiies. The antennre are the homs or feelers of the insect, and are believed to contain the organs of smell. They vary much in size and thickness, and are most important as regards the c1assification of the different apecies of Lepidoptera. They are general1y of considerable length in a butterfiy, increasing in thickness at the end till a sort of long knob is formed. :Moths are distinguished from butterfiies by a few simple characteristics, which can be seen at a glauce. Fir t, with some few exceptions, ofwhich the Humming Introdttct01" ChajJter. 3 Bird Hawk moth is one, moths are always found on the wing at dusk, or at night, whereas butterfiies take their fiight by day. Secondly, the moth either folds its wings close to its side or else spreads thern out fiat. The butterfiy, when at rest, as a rule keeps its wings straight up, face to face, or else keeps up a fiuttering motion, continually putting them in this position. Thirdly, tbe body of a butterfiy is srnall at the waist, while that of the moth is larger, and of a more uniform size. The antennre are the most distinctive feature, those of the moth being fine and long, and baving no knob at tbe end. In sorne species tbey are 8bort and finely feathered the whole length, terminating in a sharp point; this feature is generally distinctive oí the male sex; the Ruíescens moth being an exarnple. The Skipper family have an· tennre like the butterfiy, but the body of a moth. The butterfiy or moth lays its egg (not more than a pin's head in size) on that particular plant or tree on which tbe caterpillar, that it will shortly become, feeds. These look of much tbe same form to tbe naked eye, but wben magnified they are seen to be oí many different sbapes, sorne being conical, otbers round, angular and B2 4 Tite Bz¿tletjlies a1zd Moths o/ Tmeriffe. many sided, &0., &0. Tbe oolours also of tbe eggs are various, but most frequently they are yellow, green, or greenish wbite. A microscopic examination of tbese will prove botb interesting and instructive. Tbe caterpillars, as soon as they emerge írom tbe eggs, the time oí which varies with different species, at once commence to eat, and continue to do so voraciously till they turn to the pupa state. This being the ca e, they must be constantly supplied with fresh food when kept in captivity, once certainly, if not twioe a day. There are, however, one or two varieties whioh cease to eat, and lie in a semi.dormant state for some time before taking the form of a chrysalis; the caterpillar of the Exoleta moth is an example of tills. The greatest cleanliness, together with good ventilation, freshness of food, and regufarity in feeding, are essential to keep aH caterpillars in health. H we watch the creature feeding, we shall observe that it takes tbe leaf edgeways between its two fore-f~et, ceaselessly moving its head up and down, and taking a large piece of leaf at each mouthful. Sorne moth·cater· pillars are night. feeders, and so hide themselves under I1ltrodudory Chapter. 5 the thickest leaves on which they feed, or else bury tbemselves in the earth till night comes again. Caonibal caterpillars are to be found 00 the potato planta; they are of rather a reddish brown colour, from an inch and a half to two inches in length. The author was not very fortunate in rearing them to the moth-stage; it is said that they should be fed on the young larvre, and possibly the specimens had cater pillara to feed on that were too old. There is room for interesting experiments in Teneriffe on one, if not more, spemes. Many of the caterpilIars are most beautifully coloured and marked. Those of the. Hawk-moth are usuaIly the most brilliant, but, at the same time, they are most delicate, and require the greatest attention as regarJs freshness of food, ventilation, and cleanliness. Sorne larvre shed their skins twice only, others moult seven times; but the majority efi'ect this change four or five times. Thia is rather a laborious procesa. for them, and sometimes proves fatal. During the procesa they cease feeding, but commence again with renewed vigour after the change has taken place. Tlie colourings and 6 Tite .Butte1fNes a1zd Moths o/ Tmerijfe. mal'kings of the new coat often vary from those of the one cast off, and an experienced entomologist can tell the age of the caterpillar by the colour and texture of the skin in many varieties.