Hudson. — Entomology in New Zealand. 387 



captured by searching the flowers and foliage of shrubs and 

 trees by the aid of a powerful lantern at night. Of all the 

 methods of night collecting in New Zealand the examination 

 of blossoms stands first, and amongst these the flowers of the 

 white rata (Metrosideros scandens) are probably the most pro- 

 ductive in insect life. One very handsome moth, Gonophylla 

 nelsonaria, of which I exhibit a series, has been taken on these 

 blossoms at night only, and, although I have made the most 

 •careful searches during the day-time in the localities where 

 the insect has been common, I have never succeeded in 

 finding a single specimen. The flowers of the various species 

 of Veronica are also very productive, and Mr. Howes informs 

 me that the blossoms of the common ragwort, which grows 

 so abundantly around Invercargill, is a most attractive flower 

 to nocturnal Lepidoptera in that locality. 



I have noticed that the various species of tree-ferns are 

 extremely productive in moths, and large numbers may fre- 

 quently be dislodged by beating the dead fronds, of which 

 there is often a great accumulation in undisturbed portions of 

 the forest. A sharp kick with the beel of the boot on the 

 stem of the tree-fern is also a very efficient method of dis- 

 lodging the various insects which lurk amongst the living 

 fronds. The rough stems of these beautiful plants also form 

 resting-places for many interesting species, nota.bly Porina 

 enysii, an insect I have seldom met with except in this situa- 

 tion. It is, however, extremely difficult to detect it when 

 resting closely concealed amongst the nodes of the fronds. 



Another good method of working for forest species is by 

 means of a careful scrutiny of tree-trunks. This work is 

 sometimes rather tedious, owing to the great difficulty that 

 the unpractised eye at first experiences in detecting insects, 

 which are specially protectively coloured for concealment in 

 such situations ; but the results ultimately attained by tree- 

 trunk searching are often extremely satisfactory. The know- 

 ledge of the different classes of protective colouring, and 

 of the innumerable protective adaptations and instincts, 

 which is naturally acquired by the entomologist during 

 a careful scrutiny of tree-trunks, is of great scientific value, 

 quite apart from the capture of many interesting speci- 

 mens. In fact, it may be safely said that the searching 

 for insects in their natural surroundings has led to the per- 

 ception of some of the most advanced scientific truths with 

 which we are acquainted. I refer more especially to the dis- 

 covery of the different classes of colouring, structure, and 

 instincts which have been acquired by insects for protective 

 and aggressive purposes through the agency of natural selec- 

 tion. The uses of these peculiarities of colour, &c, could only 

 be accurately interpreted by a more or less complete know- 



