346 Transactions. 



As the large and conspicuous dragon-flies belonging to the genus Uro- 

 petala appear to be common in many parts of New Zealand, it should not be 

 a difficult matter to work out the distribution of the two species if collectors 

 will send along specimens from new localities for determination. As long 

 as there was supposed to be only one species present there was no induce- 

 ment to do this. So far as known at present, U. carovei occurs over the 

 whole of the North Island, and also in the Lake Wakatipu district of the 

 South Island, while U. chiltoni occupies a middle position at Arthur's Pass 

 and Cass. This suggests that U. chiltoni may possibly be the species that 

 inhabits the west coast of the South Island, and that it may be encroaching 

 upon the domain of the eastern species through the gap at Arthur's Pass. 

 It would otherwise be difficult to explain the presence of the species typical 

 of the North Island in a locality such as Lake Wakatipu. It is, in any 

 case, clear that, as regards the genus Uropetala, each Island does not 

 possess its own peculiar species, but that some other barrier than Cook 

 Strait has operated to bring about the differences existing at present. 



Art. XXXV. — Studies of New Zealand Trichoptera, or Caddis-flies : 

 No. 1, Description of a New Genus and Species belonging to the 

 Family Sericostomatidae. 



By E. J. Tillyard, M.A., Sc.D. (Cantab.), D.Sc. (Sydney), F.L.S., F.E.S., 



Entomologist and Chief of the Biological Department, Cawthron Institute 

 of Scientific Research, Nelson, N.Z. 



[Read before the Nelson Institute, 23rd December, 1920; received by Editor, 31st December, 



1920 ; issued separately, 8th August, 1921.~\ 



Introduction. 



At the present twenty-six species of caddis-flies are known from New Zea- 

 land, distributed between fifteen genera, belonging to six families — viz., 

 Rhyacophlidae, Hydroptilidae, Polycentropidae. Hydropsychida'% Lepto- 

 ceridae, and Sericostomatidae. The first five of these families belong to 

 the more primitive suborder Aequipalpia, in which the maxillary palps 

 of both sexes are five-jointed ; the Sericostomatidae, on the other hand, 

 belong to the suborder Inaequipalpia, in which the maxillary palps of the 

 male are reduced to four or three joints. 



The suborder Inaequipalpia contains only three families out of the 

 dozen now recognized as valid by students of this Order. Of these, the 

 Phryganeidae can be recognized readily enough by the presence of ocelli, 

 and by the males having the maxillary palps four-jointed. No representa- 

 tives of this family have so far been discovered in Australia or New Zealand ; 

 they are also absent from Africa. The Limnephilidae, which are the 

 dominant family of caddis-flies in most parts of the world, are distinguished 



