Notes and Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 55, 1924, Page 202

Notes and Descriptions of New Zealand Lepidoptera. By E. Meyrick, B.A., F.R.S. Communicated by G. V. Hudson, F.E.S., F.N.Z.Inst. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 30th September, 1921: received by Editor, 6th November, 1922; issued separately, 6th June, 1924.] Caradrinidae. Melanchra distracta n. sp. ♀ 37 mm. Head and thorax mixed dark grey and white, with irregular oblique dark streaks. Palpi dark grey sprinkled white, terminal joint rather long. Abdomen pale fuscous. Forewings elongate-triangular, termen waved; grey suffusedly irrorated white, veins marked with interrupted blackish lines; first and second lines double, waved-dentate, blackish-grey, rather curved, second very strongly near costa; median shade rather curved, grey, on costa forming an oblique blackish streak, orbicular little marked, large, round, grey-whitish centred with grey suffusion, reniform trapezoidal, white, interior filled with whitish-grey, anterior edge subconvex, posterior concave; subterminal line indicated by an inwards-oblique streak of dark-fuscous suffusion from costa towards apex and a similar somewhat interrupted streak from termen beneath apex to dorsum before tornus, terminal area round these suffused whitish; black terminal interneural dots or marks: cilia grey slightly sprinkled white. Hindwings light fuscous, posterior half suffused rather dark grey; cilia fuscous, tips whitish-mixed. Mount Ruapehu, 4,000 ft., in January (Hudson); one specimen. Perhaps nearest cucullina. Hydriomenidae. Venusia autocharis n. sp. ♂♀ 28 mm. Head orange-ferruginous, a white frontal bar. Palpi, thorax, and abdomen ochreous-orange. Antennae white, pectinations light grey. Forewings somewhat elongate-triangular, termen bowed, oblique; ochreous-orange, towards costa tinged lilac, costal edge in ♂ anteriorly suffused dark grey and slightly speckled white; a slightly sinuate lilacfuscous fascia from dorsum before middle to apex of wing; in ♂ a rather dark fuscous dot in middle of disc, and veins towards dorsum and termen somewhat tinged whitish and dotted with dark-fuscous suffusion: cilia orange, paler towards tips. Hindwings pale ochreous-yellowish, whitish-tinged in ♂, towards termen suffused light ochreous-orange; cilia as in forewings. Mount Ruapehu, 4,000 ft., in January (Hudson); three specimens. Near charidema, but distinct. Crambidae. Diptychophora parorma n. sp. ♂. 13–14 mm. Head ochreous-whitish. Palpi ochreous-whitish mixed with grey. Thorax whitish mixed with dark grey. Forewings with termen more oblique than in elaina; whitish, slightly sprinkled grey; base spotted with blackish-grey, then some blackish-grey irroration tinged with whitish-ochreous, followed by first line, which is irregular, black, angulated outwards in disc and inwards towards termen; an obscure curved rather broad median shade of grey suffusion mixed with whitish-ochreous, above

its middle an irregular X-shaped black mark, lower angle resting on a roundish white spot; second line double, fine, grey, curved, waved, indented on fold; a terminal fascia of grey suffusion, including apical dot preceded by a white crescentic mark, and six black semicircular terminal dots more or less edged whitish anteriorly: cilia whitish, a dark-grey basal line and greyish subapical line. Hindwings light grey, a curved whitish line at ¾, and a whitish terminal line, terminal edge grey; cilia whitish, a light-grey subbasal line. Mount Ruapehu (2,800 ft.), Wainuiomata, in December and January (Hudson); two specimens. Very like elaina, but immediately distinguished by the black terminal dots, of which there is no trace in elaina. Tortricidae. Catamacta transfixa n. sp. ♂. 15 mm. Head and thorax dark purplish-fuscous mixed with dark red-brown. Palpi dark fuscous. Antennal ciliations 1. Forewings suboblong, costa anteriorly gently arched, with rather broad fold from base to beyond ⅓, termen sinuate, oblique; ferruginous-brown suffusedly reticulated with glistening greyish-violet; a narrow suffused ochreous-whitish median streak from base to termen, similar streaks on veins 6 and 7, on vein 3, and space between this and tornus suffusedly irrorated ochreous-whitish: cilia ferruginous-brown mixed whitish, tips whitish, at apex a violet-grey bar. Hindwings pale grey, very faintly mottled; cilia whitish. Wellington, in December (Hudson); one specimen. Tortrix zestodes n. sp. ♂. 14 mm. Head ferruginous. Palpi ferruginous-brown, tip mixed dark fuscous. Antennal ciliations 1½. Thorax ferruginous mixed dark fuscous Forewings elongate, slightly dilated, costa anteriorly gently arched, without fold, termen nearly straight, little oblique; ferruginous-ochreous; basal patch ferruginous, edge rather irregular, oblique; central fascia ferruginous-brown, rather broad, very oblique, confluent except towards costa with a broad ferruginous-brown terminal fascia: cilia ferruginous, with tips pale, towards tornus grey, on costa barred grey. Hindwings dark grey, on posterior half dotted pale grey; cilia light grey, with dark-grey sub-basal line, tips on apex and upper part of termen whitish-ochreous. Flora Camp, Mount Arthur, 2,500 ft., in January (Miss Stella Hudson); one specimen. Nearest crypsidora. Gelechiadae. Gelechia lapillosa n. sp. ♂. 15–16 mm. Head, palpi, and thorax slaty-grey, somewhat speckled whitish. Forewings rather narrow, apex pointed, termen very obliquely rounded; dark slaty-fuscous, irregularly sprinkled or mixed whitish-grey; markings cloudy, formed by absence of pale mixture, or in one specimen blackish; spots representing stigmata, plical rather obliquely before first discal, a thick oblique bar from costa terminating in these two, an additional spot midway between plical and base; an angulated grey-whitish transverse shade at ¾ more or less distinct: cilia light grey, basal half somewhat sprinkled dark fuscous. Hindwings and cilia light grey. Mount Ruapehu, 4,000 ft., in January, “very common in river-bed” (Hudson); four specimens. Next lithodes.

Gelechia aerobatis n. sp. ♂. 15 mm. Head, palpi, and thorax light-greyish. Forewings rather narrow, pointed, termen very oblique; rather light-brownish, darker towards base; a rather broad whitish costal streak nearly from base to ⅔, narrowed near base, posterior extremity suffused, a slender suffused dark-grey streak on costal edge from before middle of wing to ⅔; discal stigmata rather elongate, dark fuscous, touching lower edge of whitish streak, plical slightly marked or obsolete, somewhat before first discal; some fuscous irroration running from second discal to beneath apex; costa posteriorly and termen interruptedly lined fuscous: cilia pale-greyish, round costa and apex suffused whitish. Hindwings light grey; cilia pale-greyish. Mount Arthur, 4,000 ft., in January, one example taken by myself, also a second at 3,500 ft. by Mr. Hudson. Between pharetria and monophragma. Phthorimaea heterospora n. sp. ♂. 11 mm. Head whitish-grey-ochreous or grey-whitish. Palpi grey sprinkled whitish, terminal joint whitish anteriorly suffused dark fuscous except towards base. Thorax whitish with central whitish-ochreous stripe, patagia greyish-ochreous. Forewings rather narrow, apex pointed, termen straight, extremely oblique; light brownish-ochreous, on costal half suffusedly irrorated fuscous, between stigmata and on terminal area sprinkled whitish, dorsal area beneath fold suffused whitish; discal stigmata variably indicated by irregular dark-fuscous irroration, approximated, plical in one specimen well-marked, black, somewhat before first discal, sometimes a streak of dark-fuscous suffusion on fold towards base; costa posteriorly and termen sprinkled dark fuscous: cilia pale greyish-ochreous mixed whitish or wholly grey-whitish. Hindwings and cilia pale grey or grey-whitish. Mount Ruapehu, 4,000 ft., in January (Hudson); two specimens. Glyphipterygidae. Glyphipteryx calliactis Meyr. Mr. Hudson has sent me a bred female of this species; it differs remarkably from the male in having the slender greyish-ochreous streaks from dorsum at ⅕ and beyond middle replaced by oblique slightly-curved wedge-shaped ochreous-white spots, the apical half of second violet-golden, the metallic portions of the costal and dorsal streaks thicker, violet-golden, the terminal markings consisting of a violet-golden subapical dot, a short longitudinal mark before this, and a rather thick streak along lower part of termen. Gracilariadae. Acrocercops zorionella Huds. This distinct species, of which I have received an example through the kindness of Mr. Hudson, is referable to Acrocercops and not to Parectopa. Plutellidae. Thambotricha n. g.* Entomologist, vol. 55, Dec., 1922, p. 270. Head with appressed scales; ocelli posterior; tongue developed. Antennae ⅚, in ♂ slender, joints elongate, with spreading whorls of

extremely long fine ciliations, basal joint moderate, rather stout, with rather small pecten. Labial palpi long, recurved, second joint thickened with scales forming a very short apical tuft beneath, terminal joint somewhat shorter than second, rather thickened with scales, pointed. Maxillary palpi very short, drooping, filiform. Posterior tibiae with series of rough projecting bristly scales above. Forewings with 1b furcate, 2 from ⅚, 7 to termen, 11 from middle. Hindwings ⅘, elongate-trapezoidal, cilia 1 ½; 2 remote, 3 and 4 approximated at base, 5–7 somewhat approximated towards base. A remarkable form, perhaps nearest Dolichernis, but very distinct. Thambotricha vates n. sp. ♂. 14 mm. Head pale ochreous, side tufts bronzy. Palpi bronzy-fuscous. Antennal ciliations 8. Thorax purple-bronzy-ochreous. Abdomen whitish-ochreous. Forewings elongate, narrowed towards base, costa sinuate, apex pointed, termen faintly sinuate, oblique; pale yellow overlaid with purple-bronzy-ochreous, costal edge pale yellow from ⅖ to ⅘; discal stigmata remote, rather dark fuscous, an additional dot beneath and rather before second, these two partially surrounded with pale-yellowish; a slender terminal streak of purple-fuscous suffusion: cilia whitish-yellowish, on costa suffused purple-ochreous, darkest above apex, on dorsum pale ochreous tinged purple, cilia extending to before middle of dorsum. Hindwings and cilia ochreous-whitish. Wellington, in March, one specimen swept from forest growth by a young collector, Edward C. Clarke, aged fourteen, and kindly forwarded by Mr. Hudson. It is permissible to hope that the discoverer of this very interesting species may be thus early inaugurating a distinguished entomological career. Protosynaema quaestuosa n. sp. ♂♀. 12–13 mm. Head and thorax dark indigo-fuscous. Palpi greyish, terminal joint suffused dark bluish-fuscous anteriorly. Antennae grey, basal ⅗ moderately thickened with dark-grey scales. Forewings rather narrow, apex obtuse, termen nearly straight, rather oblique, outline of terminal cilia rounded; dark purplish-fuscous; in one specimen a rather thick light-brownish streak along anterior half of fold; markings iridescent violet-golden-metallic, more or less broadly edged with brown suffusion; a slender oblique streak from costa near base to fold; a hardly curved slender transverse median streak, sometimes interrupted; a dot in disc at ¾, nearly touched by an erect streak from tornus; a dot on costa near apex; a narrow streak along termen, at and near lower extremity preceded by two black dots: cilia bronzy-grey, tips paler and submetallic, at apex sometimes whitish. Hindwings rather dark grey; cilia grey. Mount Aurum, bred from larvae on native grasses in January (Hudson); five specimens. Closely related to steropucha, but distinguished by the grey naked apical portion of antennae (in steropucha white) and rounded outline of terminal cilia of forewings (in steropucha always perceptibly sinuate). The scale-thickening of antennae is less strong and less extensive than in steropucha, but varies in that species, as also do the metallic markings of forewings. Orthenches chartularia n. sp. ♂. 16 mm. Head and thorax whitish. Palpi dark grey, tips of second and terminal joints white. Forewings elongate, apex obtuse-pointed,

termen slightly rounded, rather strongly oblique; whitish, irregularly strewn with dark-fuscous strigulae partially mixed with grey suffusion; four small dark-fuscous spots on costa from before middle to ⅚, and four somewhat larger in a median longitudinal seriés from ⅓ to ⅚; four dark-fuscous dots on posterior half of dorsum: cilia whitish, a grey basal shade, at apex a grey bar. Hindwings grey-whitish; cilia whitish. Mount Ruapehu, 4,000 ft., in January (Hudson); one specimen. Tineidae. Astrogenes chrysograpta Meyr. ♂♀. 12–14 mm. Three fine examples from Mount Ruapehu, 2,800 ft. (Hudson); these have the last three metallic dots of costa wholly absent or very slightly indicated, but after very careful examination I am satisfied that they are the same species. Mr. Hudson states, “Taken amongst Cordyline, very local.” Tinea cymodoce n. sp. ♂. 11 mm. Head fuscous, face with a few whitish hairs, orbits whitish. Palpi white, second joint sprinkled fuscous. Thorax rather dark fuscous, edges of patagia white. Forewings elongate, apex obtuse-pointed, termen very obliquely rounded; bronzy-fuscous; some whitish suffusion towards costa anteriorly, a very fine white longitudinal stria from base beneath this, on dorsal half from base to middle several very fine short whitish striae; a slender oblique white streak from costa at ⅓ not reaching half across wing, two approximated slightly sinuate from costa about middle reaching half across wing, two approximated shorter and little oblique at ⅔, two separate nearly direct beyond these, and two very short white triangular marks before apex; three somewhat oblique slender whitish streaks from dorsum at ⅓, middle, and ⅔, not reaching half across wing, some dark-fuscous suffusion between these; a short slightly oblique whitish streak from dorsum near tornus, one erect at tornus, and one in middle of termen, all these becoming suffused and silvery upwards, a dot of silvery suffusion in disc at ⅘; a small silvery-whitish mark beneath apex: cilia light bronzy-grey with slender white bars on markings, a black basal line. Hindwings dark purplish-grey: cilia grey, darker towards base. Mount Arthur, 3,600 ft., in January (Hudson); Mr. Hudson has also an example from Mount Ruapehu. Near astraea. Endophthora tylogramma n. sp. ♂. 7 mm. Head ochreous-whitish. Palpi dark fuscous. Thorax grey-whitish, patagia and a dorsal stripe suffusedly mixed blackish. Forewings elongate-lanceolate; purple suffused light grey, and irregularly mixed blackish; a narrow irregular white dorsal streak from near base, forming three irregular spots filled with light greyish-ochreous except on margins at ¼, middle, and ¾, dorsal area above these suffused blackish, beyond these a very fine white line along termen to apex: cilia light-greyish. Hindwings bronzy-purple-grey; cilia light grey. Wellington, in March, “swept from forest growth” (Hudson); one specimen. I have not been able to determine the neuration accurately, but it agrees nearly with that of Endophthora, and some variation would be permissible; superficially the species is a very distinct one.