Watt. — Ova of some of the Lepidoptera of New Zealand. 91 



Ovum. Plate I, fig. 9. 



Class.— Flat. 



Shape. — Cylindrical ; sides slightly bulged ; ends flat ; top and bottom 

 slightly flattened. 



Dimensions. — Length, 047-0-51 mm. ; width, 0-28-0-35 mm. ; height, 

 0-33-0-35 mm. 



Sculpture. — Very pronounced. There are thirteen to fifteen deep longi- 

 tudinal reticulations or ribs 0-02 mm. high and 0-07-0-08 mm. apart. These 

 are intersected by very fine transverse reticulations about 0-02 mm. apart, 

 cutting the shell up into parallel rows of deep quadrilateral cells four times 

 as broad as long. Under a high power these cells are really modified hexagons 

 with strong longitudinal sides. The base is cut up into a number of deep 

 depressions and correspondingly high irregular elevations. 



Micropyle. — Micropylar end depressed. Micropyle situated in a rosette 

 of about six elongated cells, the. whole being slightly elevated. Fine re- 

 ticulations radiate from the rosette to the ends of the main ribs, and are 

 intersected by similar fine reticulations, forming shallow, very irregular 

 cells. Diameter of micropyle, 0-02 mm. ; diameter of rosette, 0-10 mm. 



Shell. — Strong ; transparent ; shiny ; roughened within reticulations. 



Colour. — When laid, the egg is of a pale-cream tinge, turning in a day 

 or two to a very light pink. The eggs recorded were laid on the 3rd 

 November, and between this date and the 8th November, the changes 

 took place. The egg now assumed an orange-pink colour, and on the 10th 

 November was of an even terra-cotta. No further changes took place till 

 the 24th, when one or two small black spots appeared at the micropylar 

 end. On the 27th large almost black areas were seen at this end, and 

 during the next day or so these areas turned quite black, while the rest of 

 the egg lost much of its brilliant colouring. On the 1st October the larva 

 emerged at the micropylar end. 



Note. — Laid singly. Seventy-two eggs in all obtained from one moth. 

 Not attached to object or to each other. Many of the eggs were dropped 

 indiscriminately ; others were inserted in crevices of the box in which the 

 moth was kept. Period of incubation, about twenty-six to twenty-eight 

 days. 



(Described, 6th November, 1912.) 



Ctenopseustris obliquana Walk. 



Texas obliquana Walk., I.e., 28, p. 302 ; Butl., Cat. Lep. N.Z., p. 19. 

 Paedisca obliquana Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst., 15, p. 60. Ctenop- 

 suestris obliquana Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst., 17, p. 146 ; Fereday, 

 List N.Z. Lep., Trans. N.Z. Inst., 30, p. 359. 



This little moth is extremely common at Wanganui, and I have come 

 across five varieties. Walker describes the same moth in Butler's " Cata- 

 logue of New Zealand Lepidoptera " under the names of Teras obliquana, 

 Teras spurcatana, Sciaphila transtrigana, Sciaphila turbulentana, Teras 

 cuneiferana, and Teras congestana. 



m r,, , ,„, Ovum. 



Class.— Flat (?). 



Shape.- — Oval in outline. Exceedingly flat and scale-like. Top surface 

 slightly convex. 



