132 NEW ZEALAND MACBO-LEPIDOPTEBA. 



Genus 2.— POEINA. 



"Antennas J-f, in male bi-pectinated, or more or less shortly bi-dentate. Palpi moderate, 

 porrected, basal joint rough-haired, second joint rough-haired or almost smooth, terminal joint smooth, 

 sometimes subclavate. Posterior tibiae densely rough-haired. Pore-wings with vein 7 from angle of 

 cell, 8 and 9jout of 10, rising from upper margin much before angle. Hind-wings as in fore-wings." 

 — (Meyrick.) (Plate I., figs. 28 and '2'.) neuration of Porina signata.) 



Of this genus we have eight species in New Zealand. 



POEINA DINODES, Meyr. 



[Porina dinodes, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xxii. 206.) 

 Plate XIII., fig. 8.) 

 This handsome species was discovered at Inveroargill by Professor Hutton. 

 The expansion of the wings is 2| inches. The fore-wings arc dark brown. There is an irregular 

 white mark with a brown centre at the base, several white dots and crescentic marks near the middle, 

 an oblique scries of double crescentic marks followed bj a considerably fainter series near the termen. 

 'The hind-wings arc yellowish-brown ; the cilia, of all the wings are white, barred with dark brown. The 

 antennce of the male are strongly bi-pectinated. 



Described and figured from a- specimen in Mr. Fereday's collection. 



POEINA MAIEI, Puller. 



{Porina main, Puller, Trans. N. Z. Inst. v. 279, pi. xvii., Meyr.. Trans. N. Z. Inst. xxii. 207.) 



A single, specimen of this line species was discovered by Sir Walter Buller on the 

 Ruahine Ranges, in the Wellington district, during the summer id' 1867. 



The expansion of the wings is about 5 inches. "Wings large, broad, front-wings pro- 

 duced, ovate-triangular, pale dirty testaceous; six black spots terminating veins on outer margin, 

 and bounded by a lunated marginal white band ; a submarginal series of arrow-headed black 

 spots, and beyond these ;i series of rounded spots, the first four encircled with white, the 

 rest wnli pale brown; two broken, black discal lines tilled in with brown; a broad irregular 

 band to below centre of wing, beyond cell, and formed of three black lines with brown inter- 

 spaces ; a triangular white spot below cell and a white patch terminating it and traversed by 

 two black crosses; two diverging black bars surrounded with white in centre of cell and a third 

 surrounded with dirty testaceous near base; a, large irregular patch of whitish-brown below end of 

 cell, bounded on internal area by three unequally formed patches which together almost form the 

 sides of a large triangle ; two small spots near base; hind-wings greyish, becoming browner towards 

 outer margin and crossed by eight interrupted black bars." — (Puller). 



The type specimen of this species was unfortunately lost in the wreck of the 

 barque 'Assaye' in 1890. I have copied the above from Sir Walter Buller's 

 original paper, and it may la' well to point out that his description proceeds 

 from the termen to the base, being the reverse order to that followed by me in all 

 the other descriptions in this work. 



The so-called "vegetable caterpillar" (infested with the Sphceria fungus 

 Cordiceps robertsii ) is, I think, very probably the larva, of this insect. It was 

 formerly supposed to bo the larva of Hepialus virescens ; but I have pointed out 

 elsewhere that this is certainly erroneous, the larva of H. virescens living in the stems 

 of trees, and never going beneath the ground, even to pupate, whilst the "vegetable" 

 larva is subterranean. The real point to he discovered is the precise species of 

 Lepidoptera this caterpillar would develop into, if not attacked by the fungus; but 

 at present no definite information has been obtained on the subject. 



• Entomologist,' xviii, 36. 



