Art. XXXV.—On some New Species of Macro-lepidoptera in New Zealand.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 37, 1904, Page 355

Art. XXXV.—On some New Species of Macro-lepidoptera in New Zealand. By G. V. Hudson, F.E.S. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 2nd November, 1904.] Plate XXII. Caradrinina. Orthosia pallida, n. sp. Two specimens of this insect were taken by Mr. H. W. Simmonds at Napier in April, 1903. The expansion of the wings is nearly 1½ in. The fore wings are pale-cream colour; there is a very obscure wavy grey transverse line near the base, another at about ⅓, and another at about ¾, the space between the second and third lines being slightly shaded with brown. The hind wings are almost white, slightly shaded with grey near the termen. The head and thorax are cream-colour, and the abdomen whitish-ochreous. This is an obscure species, and may perhaps ultimately prove to be a bleached or pale variety of some other species already described. Mr. Simmonds, however, assures me that he has no reason to doubt his specimens represent a distinct species.

Grammodes pulcherrima, Lucas. Plate XXII., fig. 4. A single specimen of this well-known Brisbane species was captured by Mr. Creagh O'Connor at Titahi Bay, near Wellington, in March last, and so far as I am aware has not been previously found in New Zealand. The expansion of the wings is 1⅜ in. All the wings are dark blackish-brown with white markings. The fore wings have an oblique transverse band from about ¼ on the costa to about ½ on the dorsum; another band, very slender and curved near the dorsum, from a little more than ½ on costa to about ¾ on dorsum. There is a conspicuous black spot, partially ringed with pale-yellow, near the tornus, a small oblique white mark a little before the apex, and a fine oblique shaded line from the termen below the apex ending just before the black spot. The hind wings have a very broad curved white band near the base, several spots on the termen, and a blackish blotch in the middle of the termen. The cilia of the fore wings are grey; of the hind wings white, except near the black blotch, where they are black. The head and thorax are dark-grey, the abdomen pale-grey. The underside is much paler, with the white markings much broader than on the upper surface. Kindly identified by Mr. Lyell, of Gisborne, Victoria, from a drawing taken for that purpose from Mr. O'Connor's specimen. Notodontina. Chloroclystis minima, n. sp. A single specimen of this little species was found by Mr. J. H. Lewis at Ida Valley in November, 1902. The expansion of the wings is ⅝ in. All the wings are dark-grey, stippled and striped with blackish. The fore wings have five rather ill-defined transverse bands, which are more distinct on the costa and termen than near the centre of the wing. The hind wings are shaded with blackish near the termen, but are otherwise destitute of distinct markings. The cilia of all the wings are grey, barred with black. The head, thorax, and abdomen are dark-grey. In general appearance this species closely resembles some of the smaller varieties of Xanthorhoe cinerearia, but may be readily distinguished from that species by its smaller size and darker coloration. Its structure and wing-outline clearly indicate its affinity with Chloroclystis. Dichromodes ida, n. sp. Plate XXII., fig. 2. This interesting species was discovered by Mr. J. H. Lewis at Ida Valley, Central Otago. The expansion of the wings is ⅞ in. The fore wings are very pale greenish-blue, speckled and marked with black. There is an

ill-defined wavy black stripe near the base, another at about ⅓; this is followed by a large central clear space containing a conspicuous discal spot above middle. There is a conspicuous very jagged black stripe from a little more than ½ of costa to about ¾ of dorsum, followed by a very conspicuous pale-ochreous line; beyond this are two somewhat ill-defined black bands. The cilia are black, mixed with pale bluish-green. The hind wings are ochreous tinged with reddish and speckled with black, especially towards the base and termen. There is a conspicuous black discal spot and a clear rather wavy yellowish band about ¾ from base to termen. The cilia are blackish. Head and thorax black dotted with pale bluish-green; abdomen yellowish. Mr. Lewis has favoured me with the following note relating to the transformations of this interesting new species. “The specimen was bred from a pupa found in a cleft of rock: a chamber had been formed by cementing moss - dust and silk together. From the fragments of caterpillar-skin remaining, I judge that the larva was one I had tried unsuccessfully to rear a few weeks ago, found feeding openly on lichen, remarkable for its fimbriated aspect, each segment being produced into irregular lobed processes at the edges—very protective amongst lichen.” Lythria fulva, n. sp. Plate XXII., fig. 3. This species was captured by Mr. J. H. Lewis near Mount Ida, Central Otago, at about 3,500 ft. above the sea-level. The expansion of the wings is ¾ in. The fore wings are dull greyish-brown, greenish-tinged. There is a wavy darker band near the base; a broad median band with a strong rounded projection towards the termen above middle; a dull-greenish band on termen preceded by a row of pale dots on veins, cilia grey with blackish bars. The hind wings are dull reddish-ochreous. There are three very obscure blackish transverse lines. The cilia are grey, faintly barred with darker. This is a very distinct species. It may be at once distinguished from L. eudidiata by the absence of the conspicuous red, black, and yellow markings on the underside of the fore and hind wings. Porina minos, n. sp. Plate XXII., fig. 5. This species was discovered by Mr. J. H. Lewis at Ophir. The expansion of the wings is 1⅛ in. The fore wings are dull yellowish-brown. There are two rather large white spots near the base, a wavy irregular chain of white spots at about ⅓, an oblique chain of white spots from about ¾ of costa to ⅔ of termen. The outer chain has two spots between veins 7 and 8 and

8 and 9. The spots between veins 6 and 7 on both series are much elongated and almost touch each other, thus forming together an interrupted oblique white line on the upper portion of the wing. There are four small white spots on the termen near the tornus. The hind wings are pale yellowish-brown. The head and thorax dark-brown and very hairy; abdomen paler. This species is easily recognised by its small size. Explanation of Plate XXII. Fig. 1. Chærocampa celerio. (See page 359.) Fig. 2. Dichromodes ida. Fig. 3. Lythria fulva. Fig. 4. Grammodes pulcherrima. Fig. 5. Porina minos.