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
Of this fine species only about a dozen specimens have hitherto been
captured, all of which have occurred in the immediate vicinity of
Wellington. It is consequently at present a rarity, but future collectors
will probably find the insect in many other parts of the country.
The expansion of the wings varies from 1¼ to 1½ inches. The fore-wings
are light ochreous-brown; there is a small white-edged brown spot near
the base; two oblique curved brown transverse lines enclosing between
them a white space towards the dorsum; a short stripe on the costa, near
the middle, edged with white towards the base of the wing; a doubly
curved transverse line beyond the middle, finely edged with white towards
the base of the wing; there is also a short white-edged brown stripe
extending from the apex of the wing to the last-named transverse line,
the two lines enclosing between them a small pale triangular area; there
are five short longitudinal brown lines running from the termen to the
outermost of the transverse lines, two of them being tipped with white
towards the base of the wing. The hind-wings are dull ochreous-brown,
with two very faint brown transverse lines towards the dorsum, and
several whitish spots and one brown spot near the tornus. The female is a
little darker in colour than the male.
This insect varies slightly in size.
The larva feeds on _Cyathea dealbata_ (tree-fern) in September. Its colour
is dull reddish-brown with an irregular brownish-black blotch on the side
of each segment, and a dark brown dorsal line. It is very sluggish in its
habits.
The pupa is concealed amongst moss, &c., on the surface of the ground, the
insect remaining in this state for about six weeks.
The moth appears from September till March, and frequents dense forests. It
has been dislodged from its food-plant in the daytime, and has also been
taken on the flowers of the white rata in the evening.
SELIDOSEMA MELINATA, Feld.
(_Numeria melinata_, Feld. cxxix. 9. _Pseudocoremia indistincta_, Butl.,
Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. 1877, 394, pl. xliii. 8. _Pseudocoremia melinata_,
Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xvi. 99.)
(Plate IX., fig. 15 [M], 16 [F].)
This species is very common, and generally distributed throughout the
country.
The expansion of the wings of the male is 1¼ inches, of the female 1½
inches. The fore-wings are _dull greenish-grey_, with black markings;
there is a transverse line near the base; another near the middle,
followed by two broken irregular lines, then a broader, paler area
sometimes white, followed by a series of jagged pale markings shaded with
black. The hind-wings are ochreous mottled with pale brown near the
dorsum; there is a series of black dots on the termen of both fore- and
hind-wings.
This species is extremely variable, but may always be recognised by its
greenish tinge, and the absence of indentations on the termen of both fore-
and hind-wings.
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