268 Transaction*. 



No. 3. Venusia verriculata Feld. 



Cidaria verriculata Feld., Eeise der Nov., 5. pi. cxxxi, fig. 20. Phiba- 

 lapteryx verriculata Butl.. Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond. ; 1877. p. 396. 

 Panopoea verriculata Mew.. Trans. N.Z. Inst., xvi. p. 62. Pane/pun 

 verriculata Fereday. Trans. X.Z. Inst., xxx. p. 338. Venusia 

 verriculata Hudson, N.Z. Moths and Butterflies, p. 53, pi. 6, 

 figs. 30. 31. Pancyma verriculata Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst., xviii. 

 p. 184. Venusia verriculata Philpott, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxxiii, 

 p. 175: ib., xxxix. p. 216: Hamilton, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xliii. 

 p. 121 : Watt, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xlvi, p. 80. 



The Egg. 

 For detailed description, see Trans. N.Z. Inst., xlvi. p. 80. 



Egg-laying. 



The ova are deposited in small regular hatches of a dozen, more or less. 

 The parent moth is careless as to the spot where she lays her ova, for they 

 may be found on both dead and green leaves alike. It would appear from 

 the rapid colour-changes in the egg and the extreme activity of the newly 

 hatched larvae that the correct place for the ova is ou the dead leaves, and 

 thev are often to be found there on the under-surface near the base of the 

 leaf, where they are greatly protected by their colour. Those eggs laid on 

 the green leaves only gain protection on account of their colour for a couple 

 of days or so, and for the remainder of the oval period are startlingly con- 

 spicuous : in consequence the collector is bound to come across them in 

 such positions, and, as they are well-nigh invisible on the dead leaves, his 

 opinion is likely to be prejudiced as to the natural place of deposition. 

 Personally, I have found more ova on the dead leaves, where they have 

 invariably been placed on the under-surface, near the butt, than on the fresh 

 leaves, on which they appear to have no fixed position. One female reared 

 in captivity laid a total of 393 eggs in three days. Oviposition was carried 

 on during the night. In most of the batches the eggs are laid in neat rows, 

 being placed end on end. but occasionally they are to be found in a rather 

 scattered condition. 



The Larva. 



1st stadium : Head of medium size, non-retractile. Abdominal seg- 

 ments 1 to 6 inclusive are largest and equal in size: the 7th abdominal 

 and the thoracic segments about equal. Body cylindrical ; prolegs on 

 abdominal segments 6 and 10 only, situated posteriorily, well developed, 

 crochets on lateral flange. A very minute and scattered pile may be observed 

 on the body with a high-power objective. The 6th abdominal segment 

 is divided centrally into two subsegments ; on the other segments sub- 

 segmentation is not apparent. Spiracles small, circular, rims brown, in- 

 conspicuous. The prothoracic shield is slightly raised and light in colour, 

 with a well-marked medio-dorsal suture ; each half of the scutum bears 

 4 minute tubercles and setae arranged in diamond formation. All setae 

 are simple. Tubercle i is contained in the scutum on the prothorax : in 

 the remaining two thoracic segments is above ii, slightly anterior ; in the 

 abdominals i and ii are some distance apart, i being anterior to and above ii. 

 ii is also included in the prothoracic shield, iii consists in the thoracic 

 segments of two minute tubercles, sometimes free, sometimes coalesced ; 

 in the prothorax they are situated just beneath the scutum, the upper one 



