Quail. — On New Zealand Lepidoptera. 231 



colour, resemble the longitudinal yellow spots on the pupa of 

 Nycteviera annulata. On dehiscence the wing-cases separate 

 from the ventral juncture and along the sides of the ab- 

 dominal segments to the suture with thoracic segments, 

 which separate mid-dorsally, and remain attached to either 

 wing-case. The face, antennas, and leg-cases remain welded 

 together, but separate from the wing-cases almost to the 

 juncture of the 5th abdominal segment. 



Female pupa about the same length as male, but extremely 

 robust in comparison. It tapers sharply from the 3rd ab- 

 dominal segment to head, dorsally and laterally ; 4, 5, 6 

 appear to be wholly free segments, and are the widest — fully 

 xein. ; 7, 8, 9, 10 are consolidated and form on extremity, 

 with armature similar to the male. Small wing-cases ex- 

 tend to the posterior edge of 3rd abdominal segment, and 

 abdominal rudimentary setae correspond to the male. The 

 head also is covered with numerous similar setae. 



Duration of pupal existence, about twenty days. 



[Since my paper was written I received from Mr. George 

 Howes several larvae of Metacrias strategica, which, after very 

 little feeding, pupated in the usual cocoons amongst moss or 

 grass, and subsequently produced several male and female 

 imagines. I may say, so far as colouration or size is con- 

 cerned, there appeared to be no difference between the several 

 larvae such as might be interpreted as an indication of sex. 

 Owing to the fact that the female did not leave its cocoon, I 

 was unaware of it for at least several days, when it appeared 

 to me to be dead, but had already deposited several ova — 

 pale-yellow colour, with distinct hexagonal sculpture. On 

 emergence the female entirely ruptured the pupa-case at every 

 suture, and only remnants remained intact. The female cer- 

 tainly deposits its ova in a normal and proper manner 

 amongst the wool which lines the cocoon. This wool (hair- 

 like scales) acts as an envelope, possibly incubator, for the 

 ova, in the manner observed amongst Psychidcs.* M. strate- 

 gica i however, has wool all over its body ; but at the time of 

 my examination this had been almost entirely rubbed off, 

 except from the two or three posterior segments. Probably 

 when the burden of ova has been disposed of the empty 

 female M. strategica crawls out of the cocoon, as is the case 

 with Psychidce. In my previous remarks I was under the 

 impression that the female M. strategica was entirely apterous. 

 This is not strictly so, as there are rudiments of both fore and 

 hind wings, though so small as to be entirely functionless. 

 The several organs of the caput are better developed than are 

 those of the female CEketicus omnivorus, which latter has, 



* Dr. Chapman, Trans. Ent. Soc, Lond., 1900, 403. 



