New Zealand Moths and Butterflies (Macro-Lepidoptera)Hudson, G. V. (George Vernon)
Science
New Zealand Moths and Butterflies (Macro-Lepidoptera)
Hudson, G. V. (George Vernon)
Lepidoptera -- New Zealand
This very striking species has occurred in the South Island at Mount
Arthur, Mount Hutt, and Ben Lomond, Lake Wakatipu.
The expansion of the wings is 1½ inches. _All the wings are dark
greyish-black, speckled with bluish-grey scales._ The fore-wings have
five rather indistinct wavy darker transverse lines, and a very broad
darker shading near the termen; there is a fine white mark near the apex,
continued as an indistinct wavy line towards the tornus. The hind-wings
have three or four {71}indistinct darker transverse lines, and a very
broad terminal shading; there are two, more or less distinct, fine, wavy,
white lines, the first a little below the middle, and the second near the
termen; the cilia are dark grey barred with pale grey. _On the under side
all the wings are dark blackish-grey, traversed by six broad, wavy
whitish lines._
The perfect insect appears in December, January and February, and frequents
rocky crags on mountains, at elevations of from 4,700 to 5,700 feet above
the sea-level. It delights to rest on blackened rocks in the hottest
sunshine, but dashes away with the greatest rapidity on the approach of the
collector, so that it is generally rather difficult to capture.
Genus 14.--NOTOREAS, Meyr.
"Face roughly haired. Palpi moderate, second joint with long or very long
spreading hairs beneath, terminal joint moderate or rather long, often
concealed. Antennæ in male bi-pectinated. Thorax beneath more or less
strongly clothed with long hairs. Fore-wings with vein 6 rising out of 9,
7 almost from angle of areole, 10 anastomosing moderately with 9, 11
anastomosing moderately or very shortly with 10, 12 free. Hind-wings
normal."--(Meyrick.) (See Plate II., fig. 43, fore-wing of _Notoreas
brephos_.)
This interesting genus, of which we have no less than fifteen species,
comprises a number of gaily coloured little insects, chiefly inhabiting
mountain regions. All the species are day-fliers, and most of them only
appear during the hottest sunshine. Mr. Meyrick regards the genus
_Notoreas_ as most closely approaching to the ancestor of the family
_Hydriomenidæ_.
NOTOREAS INSIGNIS, Butl.
(_Aspilates insignis_, Butl., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1877, 393, pl.
xliii. 1. _Pasithea insignis_, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xvi. 85.
_Notoreas insignis_, ib. xviii. 184.)
(Plate VIII., fig. 3 [M].)
This very striking species has been taken in the South Island at Castle
Hill.
The expansion of the wings of the male is 1¼ inches, of the female 1
inch. _The fore-wings of the male are dull yellowish-brown; in the middle
of the wing there is an almost straight long white streak from the base
to about three-fourths; there is another straight white streak parallel
to the termen and almost touching the apex. The hind-wings are bright
ochreous speckled with brown near the base._ The female has the wings
rather narrower than the male, and the ground colour is paler.
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