Part 31

"This genus is especially characteristic of New Zealand, and is also found in South Asia, a few stragglers occurring in Europe and elsewhere."--(Meyrick.)

We have twelve species, several of which are very beautiful.

CHLOROCLYSTIS PLINTHINA, Meyr.

(Pasiphila plinthina, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xx. 49.)

(Plate VI., fig. 8.)

This pretty species has occurred at Wellington.

The expansion of the wings is about ½ inch. All the wings are traversed by numerous obscure, wavy, reddish-yellow lines; the fore-wings have a dark shading near the base, a very large white blotch in the middle, and a dark chocolate-brown patch near the apex. The hind-wings have a large shaded white patch in the middle, a blackish dot near the base, and a series of brownish crescentic marks on the termen; the cilia of all the wings are pale brown barred with brownish-black. The termen of the fore-wings is very oblique, of the hind-wings rather irregular.

Many specimens of this insect are strongly tinged with green, and the shape and size of the white patches on the fore- and hind-wings are subject to slight variations.

The perfect insect appears in November and December. It frequents brushwood, where it may be occasionally taken at rest on tree-trunks but more often dislodged from the foliage. It is not a very common species.

CHLOROCLYSTIS BILINEOLATA, Walk.

(Eupithecia bilineolata, Walk. 1246. E. muscosata, ib. 1246. Scotosia humerata, ib. 1362. Eupithecia semialbata, ib. 1708. E. cidariaria, Gn., Ent. Mo. Mag. v. 62. Cidiaria aquosata, Feld., pl. cxxxi. 33. Helastia charybdis, Butl., Cist. Ent. ii. 503. H. calida, ib. 504. Pasiphila muscosata, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. 50. P. bilineolata, ib.)

(Plate VI., fig. 9 type, fig. 10 variety.)

This beautiful little species is common, and generally distributed throughout the country.

{42}The expansion of the wings is ¾ inch. The fore-wings are bright green with numerous wavy darker lines. There is a jagged transverse black line near the base, two at about one-fourth, enclosing a rather paler space; beyond this there are several rather irregular, fine black marks, and an obscure white patch below the apex; the cilia are dull green. The hind-wings are grey slightly tinged with reddish; the dorsum and termen are shaded with green, and there is a number of curved black lines on the dorsum; the cilia are dull greenish-grey. The termen of the fore-wings is slightly bowed, and all the wings are finely scalloped and sharply outlined in black.

A very distinct variety frequently occurs in which the entire ground colour is orange-yellow. This variety can be artificially produced by exposing a typical specimen to the fumes of bruised laurel leaves. Intermediate forms may also be found, but are much scarcer than either the typical form or the variety.

The larva (according to Mr. Purdie) is about ½ inch long; colour brownish, surface very rugged; body tapering somewhat towards the head. Two pairs of small dorsal tubercles about the middle, the posterior pair being larger; oblique lateral dark markings faintly seen on dark ground colour; below lighter. Food-plants: Aristotelia, Leptospermum ericoides, Rubus (?), and Muhlenbeckia (?). Found in December and January.

The perfect insect appears from September till May, and is often very common. It rests on tree-trunks with outspread wings, in which position it so closely resembles a patch of moss that it is extremely difficult to detect, even when specially searched for.

CHLOROCLYSTIS ANTARCTICA, n. sp.

(Plate VI., fig. 20.)

This species was discovered by Mr. Philpott at West Plains, near Invercargill.

The expansion of the wings is 7/8 inch. The fore-wings are rather dull green; there is a reddish-brown patch near the base, followed by two, slightly oblique, reddish bands; the central band is very broad, green, traversed by numerous fine wavy lines; there is a broad reddish band on the termen. The hind-wings are slaty-grey, tinged with pink towards the termen and dorsum. The cilia of all the wings are pink barred with black.

Two other specimens kindly given to me by Mr. Philpott have the bands on the fore-wings more or less brown in place of red, but are otherwise identical.

This insect is evidently very closely allied to C. bilineolata, but its larger size, longer wings, and barred cilia will, I think, distinguish it from that species.

The perfect insect appears in November.

CHLOROCLYSTIS ARISTIAS, Meyr.

(Chloroclystis aristias, Meyr., Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1897, 385.)

(Plate VI., fig. 21 , 22 .)

This beautiful insect was discovered on the Mount Arthur Tableland in January, 1896, at an elevation of about 4,000 feet.