304 



11EVT810N OF AUSTRALIAN LEPIDOPTERA, vi. 



By a. Jefferis Turner, M.D., F.E.S. 



Earn. GEOMETRID^.. 



Subfani. BOARMIAN.I^:. 



Forevvings in ^ often with a basal fovea; 7, 8, 9 stalked from 

 i)efore upper angle of cell, well separate from 6, which arises from 

 angle, 10 and 11 arising separately from cell, or 10 out of 9, or 



10 and 11 stalked or coincident, 10 often connected with 9 and 



11 with 12, rarely 10 and 11 arising separately and anastomos- 

 ing, rarely 11 apparently out of 12. Hind wings with 5 obsolete, 

 3 and 4 separate, 6 and 7 separate, S approximated to cell 

 usually to about middle; cell about h or ^. 



This is the largest subfamily of the Geometrida', and is well 

 characterised by the absence of vein 5 in the hindwings. Apart 

 from this, it appears to be primitive in its structure, and, though 

 the genera are numerous, they never depart far from the normal 

 structure. They show an excessive variability in the develop- 

 ment of veins 10 and 11 of the forewing, together with great 

 constancy in the other features of the neuration. Owing to 

 these causes, their study is unusually difficult. I had advanced 

 far in this revision some two years ago, w-hen, for extraneous 

 reasons, I abandoned it. Lately, 1 have taken it up again, 

 thinking it better to publish it in an incomplete state, rather 

 than to postpone it indefinitely. So far as the Queensland 

 element of the fauna is concerned, I have been much assisted by 

 Mr. L. B. Prout, who has kindly examined much material, and 

 compared it with Mr. Warren's types at Tring; and it would be 

 a pity that his generous assistance should be wasted. I am 

 sorry that there has been no one to do the same thing with Mr. 

 Ijower's types, and it is very possible that I have redescribed 

 sume of his species. 



