Hamiltox. — Xofe< oil KiiiomoJuriicdl Colh'Cti iifi I'onrx. 121 



As ill the previous season four months of collecting had been done in 

 the Soutli Island, it was intended that operations were to be confined chiefly 

 to the North Island of New Zealand, bvit eventually a considerable time 

 was spent in Southland and Westland. This was due to the fact that the 

 North Island seems to be poorer in Noctuae than the South. 



Active operations were commenced on the 29th Noveml)er in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Morere, Hawke's Bay, a small settlement with notable hot 

 springs. The native bush in the vicinity of Morere has been nearly oblite- 

 rated by the advent of the settler, but there is one splendid patch round 

 the hot springs conserved by the Government for scenic purposes. 



Sugaring and attracting by light were the chief methods employed to 

 get collections of the moths. During my fortnight's stay here the weather 

 was not good, and collecting suffered to a certain extent. 



Amongst the commoner Noctnae taken at treacle were Orthosia comma, 

 Leucama otristriga Melanchra eivinrji, M. insignis, M. lignana. M. mutans, 

 M. pelistis, Bityla defigurata, Ipana leptomera, Declana floccosa, and D. 

 junctilinea. I also had the good fortune to take a perfect specimen of 

 Cosmodes elegans at treacle, and also that rare moth Orthosia margarita. 

 Two good specimens of Hepialus virescens were taken at light in the bush, 

 and later on in the season they M-ould do doubt be common, as nearly every 

 makomako (A ristotelia race^nosa) showed evidences of extensive borings by 

 the caterpillar of that moth. In the same locality four years previously 

 I caught a beautiful orange-yellow variety of the male Hepialus hanging 

 on to one of the incandescent lamps (fed bv natural gas) that light the 

 bush -track to the hot springs. 



Collecting along this track in the dense bush was fair, and the follow- 

 ing is a list of the species taken : Tatosofna sp., Chloroclystis bilineolata, 

 Hydriomena similata, XanthorJioe cineraria, Leptomeris ruhraria, Selidosenia 

 aristarcha, S. dejectaria, S. panagrata, S. suavis, Sestra flexata, Gonophylla 

 ophiopa, and a few Cramhi and micros. On hot sunny days Chrysophanus 

 salustius was fairly common on the watercress-flower, and the darker form, 

 C. enysii, was also taken from the same places. Lycaena pkoebe was also 

 to be found, chiefly on the roadside, and an occasional hibernated specimen 

 of Vanessa gonerilla was noted. 



On the 17th December I left Morere, and proceeded by steamer 

 from Gisborne to Auckland, with instructions to collect in the vicinity of 

 the Waitakarei Kanges, about twenty miles south-west of Auckland. The 

 bush on the Waitakarei Range is fairly heavy, and is not much interfered 

 with by agricultural and pastoral operations. 



Altogether I spent three days in the bush, and collected the following 

 species : Orthosia comma, Heliothis armigera, Plusia transfixa, Rhapsa 

 scotosialis, Hydriomena deltoidata, H. gohiata, Venusia verriculata, Selidosema 

 aristarcha, S. dejectalia, S. panagrata, Chalastra pelurgata, Sestra flezaria, 

 Gonophylla nelsonaria. G. ophiopa, Drepanodes murijerata, and Ipana 

 leptomera. The Plusia transfixa mentioned is rather rare, and previously 

 has been recorded onh' from the Thames district ;* it is probably an intro- 

 duced species, now naturalized ; and the finding of Gonophylla ophiopa is a 

 considerable extension of its northward range. 



My next move took me to Kamo, about four miles out of Whangarei. 

 and there I spent the New Year. Collecting there was very poor, and 

 the only things of any note taken were Heliothis armigera and Orthosia 



* Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 41, p. 5. 



