4 Transactions. — Zoology. 



Arthur 1 tried the effect of sugaring, with much perseverance 

 and a total absence of result; the only species I took were 

 found by day, but I think an attracting lamp would have been 

 effective. The Miure of sugar is probably due to the very great 

 abundance of flov/ers. 



Seven ;;een ge?aera are recorded, of which number six are 

 represented only by single wide-ranging species, and are not to 

 be regarded as belonging to the true indigenous fauna ; five are 

 endemic, and represented in all by only six species ; and the 

 remaining six are wide-ranging, and probably almost cosmo- 

 politan genera. Sixty-three species are given, of which nine 

 are found also in /.ustralia, several of them ranging much 

 further ; the remainder are endemic. Forty-two — that is, two- 

 thirds of the whole number, or nearly seven-ninths of the 

 endemic species — belong to the two closely- allied genera Leu- 

 cauia and Hamestra, the distinction between which is very 

 slight. Compare with this the predominance of the two closely 

 allied genera, Larentia and Notoreas, among the Larentiadcs 

 (Geome^rina) ; the analogy is so close as to suggest a common 

 origin in time for the New Zealand fauna of both groups. I 

 have little hesitation in asserting, though I cannot yet adduce 

 conclusive proof, that the LarcntiaclcB of New Zealand approach 

 much more nearly to those of Chili than of any other country, 

 and perhaps the Noctuina may be found to display a similar 

 relation. 



NOCTUINA. 



Forewings with vein 1 simple, 5 rising nearer to 4 than to 

 6, 7 and 8 from a co'.nmon stalk. Hindwings with Ic obsolete, 



8 rising out of upper margin of cell near base, frenum 

 developed. 



Se-^arated from the Geomctrina by the ]Dosition of vein 5 of the 

 forewings. 1''.ie following characters are also common to all the 

 New Zealand genera of the group, and are therefore given here, 

 to avoid ixead-ess repetition: — Face vertical or obtusely 

 promineT^.o ; ocelli present ; tongue well-developed ; palpi (unless 

 special-.yir.en Lionel) moderate, obliquely ascending, second joint 

 densely rcugh-scaled or hairy, terminal joint short, smooth, 

 cylindrical ; ihorar. very densely hairy ; tarsi more or less 

 strongly cpinose, spurs ■.vsll-developed ; forewings with vein 6 

 almost iiom a point with 9, 7 and 8 out of 9, 10 connected with 



9 by r. I;"r (eiiept :'n Erano); hindwings with veins 3 and 4 

 approrimateiy ii-om a point, 6 and 7 approximately from a 

 point. 



The markings ..re tissumed to consist typically of first, 

 second, and subierminai lines, a median shade or cloudy line 

 between fixst and second, and orbicular, claviform, and reniform 

 spots ; the position oi' all these is practically identical in all 



