Art. X.—Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 50, 1918, Page 132

Art. X.—Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera. By E. Meyrick, B.A., F.R.S. Communicated by G. V. Hudson, F.E.S. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 12th December, 1917; received by Editors, 22nd December, 1917, issued separately, 24th May, 1918.] The material for these notes was received from my esteemed correspondent Mr. G. V. Hudson. Phycitidae. Delogenes n. gen. Tongue developed. Antennae in ♂ shortly ciliated, slightly sinuate and thickened towards base of stalk, basal joint moderate. Labial palpi moderate, subascending, second joint considerably thickened with dense appressed scales, terminal joint very short, obtuse. Maxillary palpi imperceptible. Forewings with 4 and 5 stalked, 9 and 10 out of 8. Hindwings with cell not quite reaching middle; 3 and 4 stalked, 5 absent, 7 out of 6, anastomosing with 8. This remarkable and interesting genus is a notable addition to the scanty local representation of the family. Delogenes limodoxa n. sp. ♂. 24 mm. Head, palpi, and thorax grey suffusedly irrorated with whitish. Abdomen whitish – grey, anal tuft ochreous – whitish. Forewings very elongate-triangular, very narrow at base, costa almost straight, gently arched towards apex, apex obtuse, termen slightly rounded, oblique; fuscous, finely and suffusedly irrorated with white; lines dark brown sprinkled with blackish, first rather oblique, nearly straight, dilated towards costa, second

at ⅘ parallel to termen, sharply angulated outwards in middle and inwards above this, marked with a series of short black dashes on veins, and followed by a whitish shade becoming white on costa and edged posteriorly with a series of small dark-fuscous marks; two cloudy brownish sometimes connected spots transversely placed on end of cell; a terminal series of cloudy dark-fuscous dots or marks: cilia light fuscous irrorated with white. Hindwings light grey: cilia whitish-grey. Waitati (Clarke); two specimens. Superficially this suggests a Scoparia. Carposinidae. Carposina sarcanthes n. sp. ♂. 15 mm. Head white, with a few grey specks. Palpi whitish sprinkled with grey, basal half dark fuscous. Thorax grey with a curved white median bar, patagia white with some grey scales. Abdomen pale pinkish-ochreous. Forewings elongate, rather narrow, posteriorly somewhat dilated, costa gently arched, apex obtuse, termen straight, oblique; pale grey, irregularly mixed with white and somewhat sprinkled with dark fuscous; a semi-oval blackish blotch on base of costa; seven dots of blackish irroration on costa between this and apex; two small round grey spots edged beneath with blackish and circled with white beneath costa towards middle; a blackish-mixed tuft edged posteriorly with white in disc at ⅓, one beneath middle of disc, and two on end of cell, discal area between these blackish – sprinkled and without whitish scales; an irregular subterminal series of blackish dots edged posteriorly with white: cilia pale grey irrorated with white. Hindwings whitish-grey, basal half suffused with pale pinkish-ochreous: cilia grey-whitish. Wellington (Hudson); one specimen. Specially characterized by the pale pinkish-ochreous basal half of hindwings. Gelechiadae Epithectis Meyr. Basal joint of antennae without pecten. Labial palpi with second joint slightly rough beneath, terminal joint nearly as long as second. Forewings with 7 and 8 out of 6. Hindwings nearly 1, trapezoidal, apex pointed, produced, termen sinuate; 3 and 4 connate, 5 somewhat approximated, 6 and 7 stalked. A widely distributed genus, not previously known from New Zealand. Epithectis zophochalca n. sp. ♂. 9 mm. Head shining bronzy – metallic. Palpi whitish – bronzy, second joint hardly rough beneath, anterior edge of terminal joint dark fuscous. Thorax purplish-bronzy-fuscous. Abdomen dark fuscous. Fore-wings lanceolate; glossy rather dark bronzy-fuscous; stigmata blackish, plical obliquely before first discal; small cloudy whitish spots on costa before ¾ and on tornus slightly anterior to this, on one wing connected by a faint straight whitish shade: cilia fuscous, round apex with a dark-fuscous antemedian line. Hindwings with apex considerably produced; dark fuscous; a fine longitudinal hyaline line in disc: cilia fuscous. Auckland, in January (Hudson); one specimen. Oecophoridae. Borkhausenia thranias Meyr. Two examples sent, taken at the Dun Mountain, Nelson, in January (Hudson); one of these is quite like the unique type specimen from

Whangarei (which has cilia of forewings yellow), but the other has the cilia of forewings light grey, giving a quite distinct aspect, as they were taken together, and are alike in all other respects, they are doubtless the same species, but it is an unusual form of variation. Trachypepla photinella Meyr. An example in good condition sent by Mr. Hudson shows a well-marked scale-tuft above dorsum of forewings at ¼ (rubbed in all examples previously seen), and therefore the species is referable to Trachypepla, and not to Eulechria as hitherto supposed. Tineidae. Endophthora pallacopis n. sp. ♂. 12 mm. Head white. Palpi white, externally dark fuscous. Thorax pinky-whitish sprinkled with fuscous (partly defaced). Abdomen light grey. Forewings narrowly elongate lanceolate; 7 and 8 stalked; pinky-whitish, with scattered light olive-brown scales; a slender blackish streak along costa from base to near ⅓, edged beneath by a light olive-brownish streak; a black basal dot in middle, and one on lower edge of this streak towards apex; some scattered black scales along dorsum, a blackish mark on costa before middle, edged beneath by a light olive-brown spot connected anteriorly with a similar spot beneath it in disc by a transverse-linear black dot; a blackish mark on costa at ⅔, with a light olive-brownish spot adjoining it beneath; an irregular light olive-brownish spot on tornus, and one resting on termen below middle: some black irroration along termen; two irregular blackish dots on costa near apex cilia whitish, basal half suffused with light grey and slightly sprinkled with blackish. Hindwings light grey: cilia whitish-grey. Wellington, in December (Hudson); one specimen. Micropterygidae. Sabatinca eodora n. sp. ♂. 10 mm. Head, palpi, and thorax fulvous. Antennae ochreous, with a black band of three joints above middle and another of three or four joints beneath apex. Abdomen blackish-grey. Forewings suboblong, costa rather abruptly arched anteriorly, then nearly straight, slightly arched towards apex, apex obtuse, termen slightly rounded, rather strongly oblique; light rosy-pink, more or less sprinkled or suffused with grey except on basal third; basal third orange – fulvous, including a bright – yellow transverse blotch edged with a few black scales from costa at ¼; a yellow dot edged with black on dorsum before middle; a somewhat oblique bright-yellow fasciate blotch from middle of costa reaching half across wing, edged with a few black scales and margined with orange-fulvous continued as an orange-fulvous fascia to dorsum beyond middle, its anterior margin marked with a yellow black-edged dot below middle and a black mark on dorsum; an irregular narrow orange-fulvous fascia from ¾ of costa to tornus, partially edged with black scales, and marked with two or three small variable yellow dots; two small yellow anteriorly black-edged spots on costa towards apex and two on termen: cilia yellow barred with grey, base tinged with rosy. Hindwings deep purple, becoming dark grey anteriorly: cilia dark grey, on costa with two indistinct pale-yellowish bars. Shedwood Forest, Tapawera, near Nelson, in January (Hudson); four specimens. A very elegant and distinct species.