Urticating Anthelid, Anthela nicothoe

Unpublished watercolour illustration of the larva, pupa and adult of the Urticating Anthelid Moth, Anthela nicothoe, and the host plant (Pinus insignis), by Arthur Bartholomew. Note the ghosting above the sketch of the pupa where an earlier illustration has been erased. Frederick 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 Unfortunately, almost 90 plates in the collection remain unpublished, and hundreds of illustrations were either not completed or not printed.