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 species is very abundant in the neighbourhood of Wellington. It has
also been taken at Taranaki, Christchurch, Dunedin, Invercargill and
Stewart Island, and is probably common and generally distributed throughout
the country.
The expansion of the wings is about 1½ inches. All the wings of the male
are yellowish-brown; there is a faint transverse line near the base, and
a conspicuous darker transverse line running from a little before the
apex of the fore-wing to the middle of the dorsum of the hind-wing; there
is also a dark spot in the centre of the fore-wing, often containing two
white dots. In the female, all the wings are slate-coloured; the
transverse lines are very faintly indicated, and the central dot of the
fore-wing is reddish-brown. The apex of the fore-wing in each sex is
conspicuously hooked, and the termen is bowed and sometimes has a very
slight angle in the middle.
Both sexes of this insect are very variable. In the male, the ground colour
ranges from dingy-brown to bright orange-brown; the transverse lines differ
much in intensity, and in some specimens the central area of the wings
enclosed by them is much darker than either the basal or the marginal
portions; occasionally there is a series of black markings between the
outer transverse line and the termen of the fore-wings, whilst the
transverse line itself is frequently edged with a band of paler
{92}colouring. The female also varies in the ground colour and in the
intensity of the transverse lines, which are sometimes marked by a few
black dots.
The larva, according to Mr. Purdie, is light grey, cylindrical, about 5/8
inch in length. It may be beaten in February from an undergrowth of
_Carpodetus_ and _Aristotelia_.
The perfect insect appears from November till March. It frequents dense
forest and is often very abundant. The colouring of the upper and under
surfaces of its wings, and the shape of the wings are both very protective,
giving the moth an exact resemblance to a dead leaf. When disturbed, the
insect adds to this deception by keeping its wings quite motionless and
rigidly extended, and allowing itself to fall through the air like a leaf.
The resemblance in this case to the inanimate object is very perfect, and
has no doubt enabled the moth to escape from many enemies. It is, in fact,
an extremely interesting example of the simultaneous development of
structure and instinct in a useful direction, through the agency of natural
selection.
This species is much attracted both by light and by blossoms.
Genus 7.--AZELINA, Gn.
"Face with some projecting hairs. Palpi rather long, obliquely ascending,
roughly scaled, attenuated. Antennæ in male thick, simple. Fore-wings
with vein 6 from below 9, 7 from below angle of areole, 10 very shortly
touching 9, 11 separate, 12 free. Hind-wings normal.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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