Golden Notodontid Moth, Neola semiaurata

Unpublished watercolour illustration (No. III), of the life stages of a Golden Notodontid Moth, Neola semiaurata (as Psadilostetha acaciae), and the host plant, by Arthur Bartholomew, January 1879. The illustration is annotated in pencil by Frederick McCoy. McCoy, the first Director of The National Museum of Victoria, presumably commissioned this work for a future plate in 'The Prodromus of the Zoology of Victoria; Figures and descriptions of the living species of all classes of the Victoria indigenous animals'. Unfortunately, McCoy died before completing this enormous undertaking. 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 Unfortunately, almost 90 plates in the collection remain unpublished, and hundreds of illustrations were either not completed or not printed.