Part 73

Represented in New Zealand by two species.

LYCÆNA PHOEBE, Murray.

(Lycæna phoebe, Murray, Ent. Mo. Mag., 1873, 107.)

(Plate XII., fig. 10, 11 under side.)

This little butterfly is extremely abundant in the neighbourhood of Nelson. I have also taken it in plenty in several localities in the Wellington district, and suspect it is common throughout the North Island. In other parts of the South Island its place appears to be taken by L. oxleyi.

The expansion of the wings of the male is 1 inch, of the female 7/8 inch. On the upper side all the wings are pale blue, broadly bordered with dull brown. The cilia are white, faintly barred with brownish. On the under side all the wings, are pale slaty-grey. There is a faint blackish spot, edged with white, near the middle of the fore-wings, and two rows of similar spots near the termen. The hind-wings have several very faint white-edged spots near the base, a row near the middle, and another row almost entirely white near the termen.

The perfect insect frequents waste grounds and sandhills, generally beside roads and river-beds, and when found is usually very common. It is on the wing from the beginning of October until the end of March.

LYCÆNA OXLEYI, Feld.

(Lycæna oxleyi, Felder, Reise de Novara Lep. ii., 280, pl. 35, fig. 6, 1865.)

(Plate XII., fig. 12 under side.)

According to Mr. Enys this butterfly is common in both islands. I have taken specimens in the Canterbury and Nelson districts.

On the upper side this species can only be distinguished from the preceding by its somewhat brighter colour, and by the cilia which are more sharply barred with brown. On the under side the whole of the fore-wings, and the central portions of the hind-wings between the outer and inner series of spots, are much darker and browner than in L. phoebe; the spots themselves are also considerably darker, and the central series of the hind-wings is almost black. A careful examination, however, shows that the markings are practically identical in both species, although of different degrees of {120}intensity. In view of the great variability, which many species of this genus are known to exhibit in other countries, I am inclined to think that this butterfly's claim to specific distinction is a very slender one.

The perfect insect may be taken in similar situations to Lycæna phoebe.

REPUTED NEW ZEALAND BUTTERFLIES.

The following species are recorded by various observers as having occurred in New Zealand. In nearly every case they are only represented by single specimens. They cannot, in my opinion, be regarded as properly belonging to the fauna:--

1. HAMADRYAS ZOILUS, Fabr.

The expansion of the wings is 1 inch. On the upper side all the wings are black, becoming brown towards the base; the fore-wings have three dull white spots near the apex; the hind-wings have the whole of the central portions white.

Stated by Dieffenbach to occur in New Zealand, probably in error, as it has not since been observed. An Australian species. Mr. W. W. Smith, however, informs me, that his eldest son recently saw near Ashburton a specimen of what he believed to be this butterfly; but as he was unable to capture it he cannot speak with any degree of certainty.

2. EUPLOÆ ---- sp?

The expansion of the wings is 2¾ inches. On the upper side all the wings are dull, brownish-black, with a series of large white terminal spots.

Two or three specimens of this insect are stated by Mr. T. W. Kirk to have been taken near Flat Point on the east coast of the North Island, but no further details are forthcoming. The late Mr. Olliff, to whom I forwarded a sketch of the insect, informed me that it was not represented in the Sydney collections of Australian and South Sea Island butterflies, but he thought it might be a Malayan species of Euploæ.

3. VANESSA ATALANTA, L.

The expansion of the wings is from 2½ to 2¾ inches. "The fore-wings are black, with a broad deep red central band, and with one large and five small white spots near the apex. The hind-wings are black, with a broad deep red band at the termen, in which are four black spots; at the tornus is a large blue-and-black spot."

Mr. T. W. Kirk states that he captured a specimen of this familiar English butterfly in the Wellington Botanical Gardens, in the summer of 1881. On a subsequent occasion he saw several others. No specimens have since been detected.

4. VANESSA URTICÆ, L.

The expansion of the wings is from 2 to 2¼ inches. "The fore-wings are reddish-orange with three large black spots on the costa (the third followed by a white spot), two smaller black spots near the centre, and one large one on the dorsum; a dark border, containing cresentic blue spots, runs along the termen. The hind-wings are black at the base, then reddish-orange, with a blue-spotted dark border along the termen."

Mr. Kirk states that he also obtained specimens of this very common English butterfly during the same season and in the same locality as Vanessa atalanta. None have been seen by other observers.

{121}5. CATOPSILIA CATILLA, Cramer.