MOTHS OF SOUTHERN RHODESIA. 7O9 



aix)Ut this subject. To demonstrate this last i^oint no better 

 part of South Africa could be selected than Southern Rhodesia, 

 a country which is practically new s^round for every Ijranch of 

 investigation in natural history. 



For the last two or three years my attention was specially 

 directed to this country by a few j)apers published on its 

 heterocerous fauna, and also by the specimens which were sent 

 by different collectors to the Transvaal Museum and to myself. 

 These pointed decidedly to a unique South African fauna, and 

 the large number of species new to science, and not found 

 further south, was simply astonishing. 



Instead of compiling a list of names of these typical 

 Southern Rhodesian forms, I thought it more instructive to 

 make up a collection of specimens which, as far as I know, have 

 Ijeen found so far hi Southern Rhodesia only, or if they occur 

 elsewhere, it is in Central and North Africa. 



This collection was arranged in four boxes, and comprised 

 not less than 560 species belonging to the following families : — 



Amatidre 6, Arctiadae- 22, Noctuidae 116. Lymantriada^ 

 13, Sphingidje 4, Ceratocampidge (?) i, Striphnopterygidje 5, 

 Notodontidse 2/, Geometridae 47, Saturniad?e 15, Arbelidse 7, 

 Cossid?e i. Lasiocampidre 18, Chrysopolomidse 4, Limacodid?e 

 7, Zygcenidcne 4, Thyridids 6, Pyralidse 117, Ptero])horida 14, 

 Orneodidce 4, Tortricidge 27, Tineina 192. and Hepialidai 2. 



This collection, tliough perhaps the largest of Southern 

 Rhodesian moths in existence, is by no means exhaustive or even 

 representative of this peculiar fauna, for it is i^rincipally made 

 up of specimens obtained during mv last collecting-trip. Only 

 an odd specimen here and there was presented to me by some 

 of the Rhodesian entomologists, of which the Rev. Father 

 O'Neil, Mr. Rupert Jack, and the Rev. Neville Jones were the 

 principal contributors. 



This trip, which lasted only two months, December and 



January, will also give a fair idea of the richness of the 



Southern Rhodesian fauna, when it is mentioned that over 



4,500 heterocerous specimens were secured, com]>rising over 



1. 000 species, of which at least 300 are new to science. 



This collection shows that onlv 40 per cent, of the species 

 captured are found elsewhere in South Africa, and of the species 

 typical to Southern Rhodesia nea.rly 50 per cent, are new to 

 science. 



The species that are common to Southern Rhodesia and 

 other parts of South Africa correspond to the following re^-ion 

 as sketched above : 



Specimens secured near Bulawayo correspond mainlv to 

 the Highveld Transvaal fauna ; those caught near Umtali con- 

 tained manv Barberton and East Coast forms, especially among 

 the Pvralidae ; Umvuma and Salisburv are, I think, very similar 

 to each other, and at the same time differ from the Umtali fauna, 

 but my stay at these places was too short to sa-y anything con- 

 clusive ab()ut it ; the North-Western parts of Rhodesia, like 



