Part 42

(Epyaxa orophyla, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xvi. 71.)

(Plate VII., fig. 24 , 25 .)

This fine species has occurred in the South Island at Nelson, Castle Hill, Mount Hutt, Dunedin and Lake Wakatipu.

The expansion of the wings of the male is 1¼ inches, of the female 1-3/8 inches. The fore-wings of the male are pale brownish-grey; there is an obscure bent blackish line near the base, a moderately broad central band bounded by two very distinct shaded blackish lines, the basal one of which is not curved; the termen is shaded with darker grey, and there is an oblique pale mark near the apex. The hind-wings are pale grey tinged with ochreous.

The female is slightly darker than the male; and there are numerous wavy pale and dark grey lines filling up the entire wing on each side of the central band.

The perfect insect appears in December, January, and February. It frequents open country on the mountain sides, at elevations of from 2,500 to 4,000 feet.

{59}I observed it in great abundance on the Humboldt Range at the head of Lake Wakatipu, where it frequented the damp rocky precipices which were fringed with a luxuriant growth of Alpine plants. At Castle Hill it occurred much less commonly, so that it would appear to be most plentiful in the extreme south of New Zealand. The colouring is protective when the insect is resting on rock surfaces.

XANTHORHOE SEMIFISSATA, Walk.

(Coremia semifissata, Walk. 1320. Coremia ypsilonaria, Gn., E. M. M. v. 64. Cidaria delicatulata, Gn., E. M. M. v. 94. Epyaxa semifissata, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xvi. 72.)

(Plate VII., fig. 26 , 27 .)

This extremely pretty insect is very common, and generally distributed throughout the country.

The expansion of the wings is about an inch. The fore-wings of the male are pale pink; there are several wavy brown lines near the base, a very distinct brown central band, narrowest near the middle, but much broader on the costa than on the dorsum; the centre of this band is paler towards the costa; the termen is shaded with brown, except near the apex of the wing; the veins are dotted in black. The hind-wings are bright ochreous with numerous wavy darker lines. The female is darker in colour than the male, the central band is broader; there are numerous brown and pink wavy lines on each side of the central band, and the principal veins are marked in pale ochreous. The grey transverse lines on the hind-wings are much more distinct in the female than in the male.

The perfect insect appears from September till April, and is very common in rather open forest districts, usually frequenting undergrowth on the edges of the denser forest. It is often one of the earliest of the Notodontina to appear in spring, and its advent is then especially welcome to the collector after the long inaction of winter. It is evidently closely allied to X. orophyla, which appears to be the southern and Alpine representative of this interesting insect. Coremia ypsilonaria, Gn., is the male, and Cidaria delicatulata, Gn., is the female of this species.

XANTHORHOE LOPHOGRAMMA, Meyr.

(Xanthorhoe lophogramma, Meyr., Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1897, 386.)

(Plate VII., fig. 47 , 48 .)

This species was discovered at Castle Hill in January, 1893.

The expansion of the wings is about 1-1/8 inches. The insect differs from X. semifissata in the following respects: In the male the general colour is slightly duller, the outer edge of the central band on the fore-wings is more indented, and the veins are not dotted in black. In the female the markings on the fore-wings are less distinct, the veins are not marked in pale ochreous, the outer edge of the central band is more deeply indented, and there is a darker shading near the termen than in X. semifissata. The hind-wings of both sexes are dark ochreous, without any transverse markings.

XANTHORHOE CHLAMYDOTA, Meyr.

(Epyaxa chlamydota, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xvi. 72.)

(Plate VII., fig. 28.)

This very handsome species has occurred at Wellington in the North Island, and at Christchurch and Akaroa in the South Island.

The expansion of the wings is 1¼ inches. The fore-wings are pale ochreous, with two broad, dark, purplish-brown bands. The first, which is at the base, is slightly paler near the body, and strongly curved outwards towards the termen; it is followed by several very fine pale brown transverse lines. The second band is very broad, and is situated near the middle of the wing; its inner edge is curved inwards, and its outer edge has two rounded projections, one very large about the middle, and {60}another much smaller near the dorsum; the middle portion of this central band is considerably paler than the edges; the two projections of the central band are bordered with bright red. The upper part of the termen is ochreous, with several faint brown marks; the lower part is dull grey. The hind-wings are dark ochreous, with a few obscure purplish-grey markings; the termen of the hind-wing projects slightly near the middle, and is rather jagged.

The species varies a little in the depth of its colouring, but the markings appear to be constant. The perfect insect appears from November till April. It chiefly frequents forest, but is not a common species. At present, more specimens have been found in the Wellington Botanical Gardens than elsewhere.

XANTHORHOE STINARIA, Gn.

(Camptogramma stinaria, Gn., E. M. M. v. 92. Larentia stinaria, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xvi. 78.)

(Plate VII., fig. 29 .)

This species has occurred in the South Island at Christchurch, Dunedin, and at the foot of Mount Hutt.