Item PZ 8.1 Watercolour and pencil illustration - Agarista glycinae, The Vine Day-moth, Arthur Bartholomew

Summary

Watercolour illustration (D7) of the larvae and pupa of a Grapevine Moth, Phalaenoides glycine, by Arthur Bartholomew, 1861. This work was commissioned by Frederick McCoy, the first Director of The National Museum of Victoria, for Plate 8 in 'The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria; Figures and descriptions of the living species of all classes of the Victoria indigenous animals'. McCoy referred to this species as Agarista glycinae, The Vine Day-moth.

The Grapevine Moth, a native of south-eastern Australia, is considered to be an agricultural pest as the larvae feed mostly on grapevine leaves.

Bartholomew's illustration forms part of the much larger Prodromus Collection. Many of the original illustrations and prints in the collection informed the production of The Prodromus, the first major publication of the National Museum of Victoria. Between 1878 and 1890, McCoy published his zoology 'Prodromus' as 20 parts in two volumes, with each part comprising 20 plates. Unfortunately, almost 90 plates in the collection remain unpublished, and hundreds of illustrations were either not completed or not printed.

Description of Content

Vine Moths, Phalaenoides tristifica (Hubner) by Arthur Bartholomew. Drawing, pencil, watercolour, ink and varnish on paper, 26 March 1860, 26cm x 17cm. Drawing 7, as part of Plate 8 in The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria by Frederick McCoy.