Art. XIV.—On New Species of Lepidoptera.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 24, 1891, Page 216

Art. XIV.—On New Species of Lepidoptera. By E. Meyrick, B.A., F.Z.S. [Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 4th November, 1891.] I am again indebted to Mr. G. V. Hudson for the following additions to the New Zealand fauna; the specimens described were kindly presented by him to me, and of all he possesses other similar specimens; they were all taken in the neighbourhood of Wellington. I am glad to take this opportunity of expressing my sense of the services rendered by Mr. Hudson to entomological science, and my thanks for the generosity with which he has assisted me in obtaining material for the elucidation of the Lepidoptera. Monocteniadæ. Dichromodes petrina, n. sp. ♂ml ♀fl. 20mm. Head, palpi, antennæ, thorax, abdomen, and legs rather dark grey, irrorated with whitish-ochreous; palpi 3 ½, base ochreous-white; antennal pectinations of ♂ 5; posterior extremity of thorax ochreous-white. Forewings triangular, hindmargin straight above, rounded beneath; rather dark grey, densely irrorated with whitish-ochreous; veins partially suffusedly streaked with yellow-ochreous, more strongly in ♂; a small blackish-grey spot on base of costa; lines formed by absence of pale irroration, more blackish on costa, irregularly waved, first slightly curved, second slightly curved on upper half; a small cloudy transverse dark-grey discal spot; subterminal pale, obscure, irregularly waved: cilia grey, irrorated with whitish-ochreous. Hindwings with hindmargin rounded; grey, darker and ashy-tinged posteriorly traces of a pale waved line at ⅔; cilia grey, sprinkled with whitish-ochreous. Two specimens. Selidosemidæ. For reasons which I have explained elsewhere, it is necessary to substitute the generic name Selidosema, Hb., for Boarmia, Tr., and to alter the family name to correspond. Selidosema aristarcha, n. sp. ♂ml. 37mm. Head, palpi, thorax, abdomen, and legs pale ochreous, back of crown and anterior part of thorax darker;

face whitish-tinged; palpi 2 ¼; abdomen and legs thinly sprinkled with dark fuscous. Antennæ whitish-ochreous, pectinations 12, apical ⅙ simple. Forewings rather elongate-triangular, hindmargin almost straight; 10 connected with 9, 11 free; light yellowish-ochreous, irrorated between the veins with pale fuscous and in disc with white, veins deeper yellow-ochreous; a white transverse mark near base below middle, edged anteriorly with ochreous-fuscous; lines slender, rather cloudy, dark ochreous-fuscous; first rather strongly curved; median very slightly curved, space between this and first line suffused with white on lower ⅔; second very obtusely angulated above middle, on lower half wholly confluent with median to form a narrow shade; a white suffusion before second line towards angle, in which is a transverse linear dark fuscous discal mark; subterminal remote from hindmargin, running from ⅘ of costa to middle of inner margin, slender, dark fuscous, edged with clear white anteriorly except towards costa, twice sinuate; a clear white longitudinal dash from subterminal line at ¼ below costa to near hindmargin, beneath which is a broad ochreous-fuscous suffusion; spaces between veins below this suffusedly streaked with fuscous. Hindwings with hindmargin rounded, waved; pale ochreous; a slender curved fuscous line beyond middle, obsolete towards costa; a small fuscous spot towards anal angle. One specimen. A handsome and striking species, allied to the group of Productata, but very distinct; Mr. Hudson says that it is not variable. Crambidæ. Orocrambus melampetrus, Meyr. Mr. Hudson has sent me a specimen of a form in which the pale postmedian fascia is almost wholly obsolete, but I can detect no other difference, and do not consider it specifically distinct. Grapholithidæ. Lord Walsingham has been enabled to examine the neuration of the type of Chiloides straminea, Butl., in the British Museum, and has kindly acquainted me that it appears to be certainly only a form of the widespread Bactra lanceolana, Hb. Hence the New Zealand insect, which I wrongly identified with Chiloides straminea, requires a new generic name, as he agrees with me that the genus is a good one; Chiloides being sunk as a synonym of Bactra. I propose for it the name Noteraula. The specific name may be allowed to stand, but of course it must be quoted as Noteraula straminea, Meyr. (nec Butl.).

Tortricidæ. Pyrgotis plinthoglypta, n. sp. ♂ml. 16mm. Head and palpi light reddish-ochreous. Antennæ fuscous, ciliations 1. Thorax reddish-ochreous, with a curved dark fuscous mark above middle. Abdomen pale grey. Legs whitish, anterior pair and middle tibiæ dark grey above. Forewings elongate - triangular, costa gently arched, apex rounded, hindmargin rather strongly sinuate, oblique; pale fuscous-reddish, irregularly spotted with ochreous; markings deep ochreous, partially mixed with black and ferruginous; a streak from base of costa to middle of inner margin; a second from ⅓ of costa to ¾ of inner margin; a third from costa immediately beyond second, suddenly bent round above middle, and terminating on costa at ⅘, edged above from angle onwards by a snow-white streak attenuated posteriorly; a fourth from costa, immediately beyond termination of third, obliquely inwards to disc beyond middle, thence acutely angulated to middle of hindmargin, edged on apical side throughout by a clear white streak interrupted on each side of angle, included apical space ochreous, marked with black on hindmargin; two small leaden-grey spots between second and third streaks towards costa, and two others between third and fourth, lower of these larger; an ochreous streak along lower half of hind margin, edged with black on margin: cilia ochreous, with a dark fuscous apical bar. Hindwings pale whitish-grey, suffusedly spotted with grey; cilia grey-whitish, round apex whitish-ochreous. One specimen. Allied to P. plagiatana, but very distinct. œcophoridæ. Trachypepla hieropis, n. sp. ♂ml. 13mm. Head, palpi, and antennæ dark fuscous. Thorax snow-white, anterior margin dark fuscous. Abdomen grey. Legs dark fuscous, posterior pair grey-whitish. Forewings elongate, apex round - pointed, hindmargin extremely obliquely rounded; snow-white; base of costa blackish; a short dark-grey streak, narrowed anteriorly, along costa from ⅖ to ⅔; a dark-grey trapezoidal dorsal blotch, extending on inner margin from before middle to ⅘, not reaching half across wing, upper anterior angle occupied by a brownish-tinged tuft; some grey scales indicating a streak from anal angle, reaching half across wing; a cloudy dark-grey elongate-triangular spot along hindmargin; an irregular black mark running round apex: cilia grey, mixed with white towards base. Hindwings rather dark grey; cilia grey. One specimen. A distinct and elegant species, which may be placed next T. galaxias.

Semiocosma caustopa, n. sp. ♀fl. 28mm. Head light fuscous, mixed with fuscous-whitish. Palpi ochreous-whitish, second joint suffusedly mixed with dark fuscous, terminal joint with dark-fuscous sub-basal ring and median band. Antennae rather dark fuscous. Thorax dark fuscous mixed with fuscous-whitish. (Abdomen broken.) Legs dark fuscous, ringed with whitish; posterior tibiæ whitish. Forewings elongate, costa moderately arched, apex rounded, hindmargin almost straight, oblique; fuscous-whitish, suffusedly mixed with fuscous and dark fuscous, veins remaining pale posteriorly; a dark-fuscous basal patch, its outer edge angulated on discal tuft; a large dark fuscous trapezoidal blotch occupying whole of disc, posterior edge well defined, near and parallel to hindmargin, other edges suffused; a cloudy blackish dot in disc at ⅓; a cloudy black longitudinal streak from middle of disc to near apex, upper edge forming a rounded projection before ⅔ of disc, posterior extremity irregular, surrounded by fuscous suffusion: cilia fuscous, mixed with fuscous-whitish. Hindwings fuscous-whitish, posteriorly sprinkled with fuscous; cilia fuscous-whitish, suffusedly mixed with light fuscous. One specimen. Allied to S. apodoxa and S. platyptera. Semiocosma paraneura, n. sp. ♂ml ♀fl. 17–18mm. Head and thorax grey irrorated with white, thorax mixed with blackish anteriorly. Palpi white, second joint irrorated with blackish, terminal joint with blackish median ring. Antennæ and abdomen grey. Legs dark grey, irrorated with white, apex of joints white. Fore-wings elongate, costa moderately arched, apex obtuse, hindmargin slightly rounded, oblique; vein 9 rising out of the stalk of 7 and 8; grey, finely irrorated with whitish-ochreous, and suffusedly mixed with white; a rather broad angulated white or whitish-ochreous band at ¼; about five irregular black dots arranged in an oval ring in disc, and sometimes additional scattered black scales; the white suffusion forms a cloudy angulated line from ⅔ of costa to anal angle; some black scales tending to form dots on hindmargin and apical part of costa: cilia grey, irrorated with white. Hindwings grey; cilia grey-whitish, with a cloudy grey basal and faint subapical line. Three specimens. An inconspicuous species, but not closely approaching any other. It differs from all others of the genus in having vein 9 of the forewings rising out of the stalk of 7 and 8, instead of separately; but, as it agrees in all other structural characters, it is neither necessary nor expedient to form a new genus for its reception.

TineidÆ. Erechthias erebistis, n. sp. ♂ml 12mm. Head, palpi, antennæ, thorax, abdomen, and legs dark fuscous. Forewings elongate-lanceolate; dark fuscous; scales in disc and posteriorly more blackish-fuscous, with fine fuscous-whitish tips; two or three scattered whitish scales towards costa before middle; a whitish dot on costa before apex, and another on hindmargin below apex: cilia dark grey, with two blackish lines (imperfect). Hindwings fuscous, becoming dark fuscous towards apex, thinly scaled and semitransparent on basal third; cilia dark grey, with indications of two black lines round apex. One specimen. Although obscure, it cannot be confused with any other; it may be placed near E. charadrota.