Page:Jardine Naturalist's Library Exotic Moths.djvu/280

218 ALCIS SCOLOPACEA. PLATE XXVII. Fig. 2.

above is a very fine foreign example of a genus containing a good many British moths, which, according to Mr. Curtis, may be distinguished from Bupalus, to which it is nearly related, by the males being invariably smaller than the females; the eyes larger, not so distant in front; the palpi more porrected, shorter, and not hairy, the maxillæ very long, the antennæ not pectinated at the apex. The posterior legs are long, robust, and hollow, furnished with two pair of spurs, a longitudinal suture, and a tuft of long silky hair arising at the base, and concealed in the tibia when at rest. Many Lepidoptera have their legs, especially the posterior, furnished with brushes of hair, but in no instance are they more curiously disposed than in Alcis. It is conjectured that they are designed to assist in balancing the body when in flight.

A. scolopacea is a native of Jamaica; measuring nearly three inches and a half between the tips of