72 Transaction a. 



Micropyle. — Situated in rosette of about seventeen elongated cells. 

 Diameter of rosette, 0-06 mm. ; diameter of micropyle, 0-02 mm. 



Colour. — When fresh, laid, pale green ; this slightly intensifies till the 

 fourth day, when a light-brown ring appears around the equator and a large 

 irregular area of light brown caps the egg. The brown areas are spotted 

 with numerous small light-coloured areas, and get much darker in colour 

 till a day or so before hatching, when they turn a blackish-grey, and then 

 get much lighter in colour — in fact, almost a light grey. The hairs of the 

 larva are most conspicuous. The green areas do not change till the day 

 before hatching, when they assume a very light grey tint. Infertile eggs 

 remain green, and collapse. 



Note. — Period of incubation, from nine to fourteen days. Eggs laid in 

 batches of from 200 to 67. 



(Described, 10th November, 1912.) 



VARIETY B. 



Ovum. 



The following important characteristics distinguish this egg :— 



Shape. — 'Transverse section circular. Longitudinal section : Sides regular 

 and bulged, top and bottom flat and of equal area. These eggs have the 

 appearance of having been subjected to pressure from above and below 

 between two flat surfaces. 



Dimensions. — Height, 0-42 mm. ; diameter, 0-63 mm. ; diameter of top 

 or bottom, about 0-37 mm. 



Sculpture. — About nineteen main ribs. Total number of ribs about 

 thirty, whose distance apart at the equator is about 0-06 mm. Transverse 

 reticulations are about 0-03 mm. apart. The cells show modified hexagon 

 form. 



Micropyle. — There is no second band of hexagonal cells surrounding 

 the micropyle. The following measurements are important : Diameter 

 of rosette, 0-07 mm. ; diameter of micropyle, 0-015 mm. ; length of hex- 

 agonal cells surrounding rosette, 0-03 mm. ; width of ditto, 0-02 mm. 



Colour. — Light green. The surface of the egg above the equator is 

 peppered with numerous small light-brown spots ; later the reverse is the 

 case, the surface being dark brown with a few small scattered light-brown 

 areas, which as the rest intensifies are in most cases entirely lost. 



Note. — Laid in no definite order, but in large scattered groups of about 

 100 eggs. Infertile eggs remain green, and collapse. 



(Described, 27th November, 1912.) 



The eggs of M. mutans seem to be very subject to attacks of parasites, 

 and I have found thousands of the eggs destroyed in this way. 



Melanchra insignis Walk. 



Euplexia insignis Walk., Cat. Lep. Brit. Mus., 33, Suppl. iii, p. 724. 

 Xylina turbida, ib., p. 754 ; Butl., Cat. Lep. N.Z., p. 9. Mamestra 

 insignis Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst., 20, p. 45 ; Fereday, List N.Z. 

 Lep., Trans. N.Z. Inst., 30, p. 333. Melanchra insignis Hudson, 

 N.Z. Moths and Butterflies, p. 16, pi. 4, figs. 29, 30 ; Philpott, 

 Cat. Southland Lep., Trans. N.Z. Inst., 33, p. 169. 

 This moth can be taken around Wanganui at " sugar " in great abund- 

 ance. It is also attracted by light, and is very common about houses and 

 street-lamps during the summer. 



