New Species of Lepidoptera.

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 56, 1926, Page 417

New Species of Lepidoptera. By Charles E. Clarke, F.E.S. [Read before the Otago Institute, 9th December, 1924; received by Editor, 31st December, 1924; issued separately, 10th April, 1926.] Hydriomenidae. Xanthorhoe ida n. sp. ♂. 24 mm. Head, palpi, and thorax grey-fuscous. Antennae fuscous, pectinations 6. Abdomen grey-fuscous. Forewings elongate-triangular, costa outwardly rounded, apex bluntly pointed, termen slightly sinuate, oblique; brown-ocherous with admixture of reddish, lines white; an irregular wide transverse band at ¼, outwardly convex in middle, slightly reddish with narrow white edges on either side; at ¾ a transverse dentate white line with largest dentations outwardly about middle; reddish beyond this and then darkening into brown-ochreous towards termen; a blackish discal dot; subterminal line dentate, white, inwardly edged with dark brown: cilia dark fuscous. Hindwings dark grey-ochreous on inner half, externally lighter ochreous, crenulate markings along termen: cilia dark fuscous. Seven specimens, the first being taken by Mr. W. G. Howes, F.E.S., at the Eweburn Stream, near Mount Ida, Otago Central, in February, 1923. Hydriomena callichlora harmonica n. subsp. ♂. 31 mm. Head, palpi, thorax, and abdomen orange mixed with grey. Forewings bright orange and pale cerulean blue in many wavy bands bordered in places with blackish; before middle a wide dentate orange band, centrally blue and with blackish edges; at ⅔ a blackish band with bidentate projection in middle; beyond this orange and blue crossed by wavy blackish lines; a bright-orange area posteriorly, crossed by another band of blue; and a row of small black dots along termen. Hindwings moderate, hind-margin rounded, crenate; grey-whitish with several indistinct grey lines across outer half. Waitati Bush, near Dunedin, in November, 1917. This beautiful and unique specimen is so different from my other examples, of which I have a good series from various localities, that it seems at first glance to be a new species. However, no structural difference has been noted in it from typical examples of callichlora. Crambidae. Crambus corylana n. sp. ♂. 36 mm. Head grey-white. Palpi white above and internally, ochreous externally. Antennae fuscous. Thorax white; patagia ochreous. Abdomen grey-whitish. Anterior legs light fuscous, posterior pair light ochreous. Forewings long, somewhat dilated posteriorly, costa slightly arched, apex bluntly pointed, termen slightly sinuate, oblique; grey-white, extreme costal edge fuscous widening at about ¾ where it is ochreous; a broad ochreous stripe from base below middle to termen above tornus and extending across to dorsum from about ⅓ to tornus: cilia white, ochreous near dorsum. Hindwings pale ochreous-grey: cilia ochreous-grey. Very close to C. ephorus but less bright. May be distinguished by the wide ochreous stripe extending transversely to dorsum along outer ⅔. A good series in February, 1923, at the base of Mount Ida, Otago Central.

Pyraustidae. Scoparia tuicana n. sp. ♂ ♀. 14 mm. Head and antennae ferruginous black; antennal ciliations ⅔. Palpi and thorax black with sprinkling of grey-white scales. Abdomen ferruginous black dotted with grey scales. Fore legs black annulated with grey-white at joints, hind legs grey-whitish with blackish annulations on tarsi. Forewings moderate, triangular, costa posteriorly moderately arched, apex obtuse, termen slightly rounded, oblique; white and light ochreous vividly marked with black; a small whitish mark at base bordered by a black transverse band widening on inner margin, followed by a broader white transverse band indented at middle and dotted by some black scales which tend to form two obscure dots; a black transverse band from ⅓ of costa, broken and rather diffused towards dorsum, often connected along costa at ⅔ with a black transverse mark extending nearly half-way across wing, surrounded by a large area of whitish often slightly ochreous outwardly and towards dorsum; a black dot near costa at ¾, and a wide terminal band of black with an obscure whitish sub-terminal line: cilia blackish with narrow black subbasal line. Hindwings grey-ochreous merging into blackish outwardly; disc with a black dot sometimes comma-shaped: cilia blackish with black subbasal shade. About twelve specimens taken during as many visits to the Waitati Hills and Mount Maungatua, 2,000 ft., in November, during three seasons. Scoparia sylvestris n. sp. ♀. 18 mm. Head, palpi, and thorax dark green sprinkled with light fuscous. Antennae fuscous. Abdomen fuscous and grey. Legs fuscous with annulations of pale grey on tarsi. Forewings moderate, triangular, costa arched, apex obtuse, termen rounded; dark green obscurely irrorated with white; first line whitish, slightly convex outwardly with two or three irregular points, outwardly margined with darker and two orange spots; two whitish stigmata in disc slightly margined with orange; second line curved, deeply indented beneath costa, rather obscure; subterminal line wavy, diffused, and almost obsolete; a series of dots along termen: cilia dark green with two fuscous lines. Hindwings dark fuscous, more dark outwardly: cilia dark fuscous with two fuscous lines. Two specimens taken and another seen near the Otira River, Westland, in January, 1923. Carposinidae. Carposina sanctimonea n. sp. ♂ ♀. 23 mm. Head whitish. Thorax grey-white. Palpi grey-white above with a few darker scales, fuscous below and near base. Antennae whitish, abdomen pale grey. Forewings elongate, posteriorly somewhat dilated, costa gently arched, apex bluntly acute, termen almost straight, oblique; pale grey-white with cloudy markings of dark fuscous; from base along costa a few scattered dark scales widening at about 3/1 to a cloudy diffusion and tapering again to apex; from near base at middle a dark line, widest at about middle of disc where it ends but is almost connected with the dark diffusion from costa; a row of several black dots from near base on costal side of this, and another dot nearer to costa at about ⅕; a black dot near anal angle; a blackish irroration with several dark spots subterminally and blackish along termen: cilia pale grey mixed with fuscous near apex. Hindwings pale grey-white: cilia grey-white. Three specimens. Arthur's Pass, in January, 1923, at about 3,500 ft.

Tortricidae. Tortrix cuneata n. sp. ♂. 13 mm. Head and thorax light grey; palpi moderate. Antennae grey, antennal ciliations ½. Abdomen pale ochreous-grey. Forewings elongate, costa moderately arched, apex bluntly pointed, termen slightly rounded, oblique; pale grey with a number of small obscure dots with tendency to form rows; a transverse blunt wedge-shaped red bar at ½ of dorsum, reaching half-way across wing. Hindwings pale ochreous-grey: cilia pale grey. Near T. indigestana, but smaller and differently marked. One specimen, taken in a glade of the beech forest at Hope Arm, Lake Manapouri, in January, 1923. Epichorista candida n. sp. ♀. 14 mm. Head, palpi, and thorax dark brown. Antennae brown annulated with whitish. Abdomen dark brown. Legs grey-brown. Forewings strongly arched near base, apex rectangular; termen rather sinuate; dark brown with a very wide irregular central band of pale and bright ochreous from about ⅕ on costa to beyond ⅗, its inner margin diagonally outward to fold, where it is longitudinally angulated and continues acutely diagonally outwards to almost reach dorsum at ½; its outer margin from costa strongly indented to half-way across wing, where it extends outwardly a short distance and is angulated to proceed with a slight indentation to near dorsum at about ¾; pale ochreous excepting a bright ochreous transversely diagonal band from ½ on costa, widening slightly where it almost reaches dorsum at ⅔; a slightly curved grey subterminal line. Hindwings dark brown: all cilia brown mixed with ochreous on termen of forewing and near apex of hindwing. One specimen, in January, 1923, taken at Hall's Arm, Lake Manapouri. Oecophoridae. Gymnobathra zephyrana n. sp. ♂. 16 mm. Head and thorax brownish-fuscous. Palpi brownish-fuscous, second joint with several bristles externally. Antennae dark fuscous, basal joint brownish-ochreous. Abdomen and legs brown-fuscous, lighter at apex of tarsal joints and posterior tibiae. Forewings moderate, posteriorly dilated, costa moderately arched, apex acute, tornus rather produced, hind-margin sinuate, oblique; very dark fuscous; a longitudinal ochreous band along inner margin from base along dorsum about half width of wing gradually narrowing to an acute extremity close to tornus, broken by cloudy dark-fuscous scales from inner margin beyond base and narrowed anteriorly at nearly half length of wing by a slight projection of dark fuscous. Hindwings dark fuscous: all cilia dark fuscous. A distinctive species belonging to the hyetodes-philadelpha group. One specimen, taken in the forest near Whangarei on the 11th January, 1921. Izatha toreuma n. sp. ♀. 23 mm. Head, thorax, and palpi greyish-white. Palpi black at base of second joint with some black scales round subapex, terminal joint with apex and a median band of black. Antennae dark fuscous, greyish-white at base. Thorax with a few darker scales each side of neck,

anteriorly at each side and posteriorly. Abdomen grey. Legs dark fuscous with lighter bands at joints; posterior tibiae light fuscous with some darker scales. Forewings moderate, costa gently arched, faintly sinuate in middle, apex obtuse, hind-margin oblique, nearly straight; greyish-white with narrowly defined black linear markings and dots: on base of costa a short narrow curved black line running into wing slightly at outward extremity, another very similar at about ¼, and an irregular trapezoidal spot on costa at nearly ⅗; on fold near base of wing a dot broken and then continued as a longitudinal line to rather less than ½, an anterior short transverse mark connecting with it at ⅕; two irregular spots slightly joined longitudinally along middle, and about midway from these to costa a dot at ⅓ and another at ½; a short longitudinal dot at about ¾ a short distance from costa, and another similarly distant from dorsum; a row of small spots along apical third of costa and termen: cilia grey-white. Hindwings grey, darker posteriorly with darker fuscous line along outer termen; an obscure dark-fuscous central spot: cilia grey. One specimen. Arthur's Pass, 3,500 ft., in January. Belongs to the peroneonella-picarella-huttoni group, but differentiated by the arrangement of the exceedingly narrow black lines on whitish-grey ground. Glyphipterygidae. Glyphipteryx scintilla n. sp. ♂ ♀. 9 mm. Head and thorax fuscous-bronze. Palpi loosely scaled, grey, with four black bands and black extremity. Antennae dark fuscous. Abdomen and legs dark fuscous, segmental margins greyish. Forewings elongate, costa gently arched, apex obtuse, oblique; dark fuscous-bronze; a strongly oblique whitish fascia from costa at ⅓ reaching about half-way across wing, five more silvery-white fascia from costa, the first two near middle rather oblique, the outer ones shorter and more transverse, reaching near to about six scattered dots and bars of metallic purple at outer disc and near termen; a black dot near apex, beneath which is a silvery-purple mark; a diagonal wedge-shaped white fascia from dorsum at about ½ reaching fold; a very small one at less than ¼, and another near tornus joining purple marks in outer disc: cilia whitish, basally bronzy-fuscous, indented subapically with white. Hindwings and cilia dark fuscous. Rather close to G. erastis, but darker, less elongate, and the principal lines are differently and more diagonally placed. A good series secured on Flat Mount, Hunter Mountains, near Lake Manapouri, at an elevation of 4,000 ft., in January, 1923. Simaethis urbana n. sp. ♂ ♀. 9 ½ mm. Head fuscous with whitish scales. Palpi with whorls of white black-dotted scales with longer tuft beneath. Thorax bronzy-brown dotted with black and with longer scales. Legs dark fuscous irrorated with whitish. Antennae blackish annulated with grey. Abdomen dark fuscous, margins of segments grey. Forewings elongate, costa anteriorly arched, apex moderately obtuse, termen slightly rounded, oblique; dorsum gently oblique, rounded along inner half; bronzy-brown; a grey inwardly-oblique area at rather less than ½, distinct on dorsal side but obscurely reaching costa; a black transverse line at ½, convex outwardly with tendency to form about three dots across wing, outwardly bordered and dotted with metallic silvery markings; a bronzy-brown transverse area at

about ¾ crossed by grey, more definite towards dorsum; a row of metallic silvery dots at ⅘ transversely to reach tornus; outwardly and at apex of wing blackish: cilia grey with black basal and median lines with suffusion of dark fuscous at apex and anal angle, tips whitish. Hindwings dark fuscous, lighter on basal half: cilia grey with dark-fuscous basal and fuscous median lines, tips whitish. A distinct species, of which three specimens were taken together on the open mountain-side at Arthur's Pass, 4,000 ft., in January, 1923. Simaethis chatuidea n. sp. ♂, 8 mm.; ♀, 9 mm. Head and thorax dark fuscous irrorated with violet-whitish scales. Palpi dark fuscous with whorls of blackish white-tipped scales. Antennae blackish annulated with white. Abdomen dark fuscous, segmental margins white; a few scattered white scales near extremity. Legs fuscous. Forewings suboblong, moderate, costa gently arched, apex obtuse, termen nearly straight, oblique; dark blue-violet; three distinct white spots on costa, central one at ½, other two about equidistant with pale blue-violet transverse line proceeding from each; some violet-white irroration towards base; a transverse line from first white spot on costa, sometimes double, another from central costal spot, broken but often well angulated at middle; some violet-white irroration scattered across outer wing and a fine subterminal line: cilia dark ochreous with dark-fuscous basal and fuscous median lines, tips dark ochreous. Hindwings dark fuscous, darker outwardly, an incurved white streak, sometimes double, from ¾ of disc to tornus: cilia dark ochreous with fuscous lines, tips dark ochreous. About twelve specimens of this species taken in November, 1923, at Vauxhall, Anderson's Bay, Dunedin. Tineidae. Tinea aetherea n. sp. ♂ ♀. 9–10 mm. Head grey-ochreous, lighter anteriorly. Palpi light grey-ochreous. Antennae grey-ochreous. Thorax fuscous sprinkled with grey-ochreous. Abdomen fuscous. Forewings elongate, rather narrow, costa gently arched, apex rather pointed, termen obliquely rounded; purplish-fuscous with grey-ochreous markings, of which there are three along costa with tendency to divide into double, lines, oblique, central one from ½ of costa, reaching about half-way across wing; three transverse marks from costa near apex, two outer ones again distinct on dorsum; near base and at ⅓ and ⅔ of dorsum are obscure wedge-shaped markings: cilia fuscous with blackish subbasal line and dark-fuscous subapical shade, grey-ochreous apically and subapically. Hindwings purplish-grey with dark-fuscous subbasal shade. Three specimens. Arthur's Pass, at 3,500 ft., in January, 1923. Mallobathra nocturna n. sp. ♂. 8 mm. Head, palpi, and antennae fuscous. Antennal ciliations 2. Thorax and legs fuscous. Abdomen light fuscous. Forewings elongateoval, costa arched, apex rounded, hind-margin rather rounded; dark fuscous: cilia dark fuscous. Hindwings fuscous: cilia fuscous. Two specimens taken and another seen at Kauri Gully, Northcote, Auckland, in January, 1921.