Publ. 5. III. 1939. DASYSTERNICA. By L. B. Prout. 245 



less yelliiw intermixture. bat si)eciall\- cliaracteiizcd by the obsolcsceiico of tbe l)lack Hne.s on the imdeiside 

 of the hiiuhving. wliich aie strongly inaiked in all South Lsland mcchanitix. Moiint Holdswoith, Tararua Ranges. 

 4()0() feet. 



N. anthracias Meijr. (24 e). Wings elongate, with somewhat siiniou.s distal niargins and prominent anihmrias. 

 apices. Pectinationa rather long. Chound-coloiir somewhat as in omichlias. but with whiter (biseeted) band 

 bounding the median area of the forewing. The o considerably darker thau the ^. Found on open mountain- 

 .sides, from 2000 to above öOOO feet, South Island. 



N. incompta Phil polt (24 g). Considerably larger than nnihmcius (2(i 31mm). the markings less ;(mo»h;>/«. 

 elearly tlehned. Hardly distinguishable in eoloration from orphnaea (24g) but easily separable by the rather 

 s h o r t antennal pectinations of the q and the lesser development of the hairs of the palpus. As the wings 

 are desoribed as "'white, densely irrorated witii blaek. csiiecially on median band and terminal area" and the 

 underside grey-whitish, I suppose it is less cxtremely dark tJian most orjjhnaea (especially orphnaea ocJ); both 

 species show brownish suffusions in places. Kepler Mountains, at aboul ."{OGO feet, 2 of each sex. Since found 

 on Arthur 's Pass and the Hunter Mountains. 



N. Opipara Philpott (24 g). Expanse 18—21 mm. A very distinct s])eeies. ])robably neare.st to orphnam «pipum. 

 but very much smaller; from anthracias, to which it also shows some afFinity. it is distinguished by its broader 

 wings, darker colour, presence of letldish markings (though these are not alwaj's as strong as in the figured 

 specimen) and longer hairs of the palpus. Underside fuscous, postmedian and on forewing basal half of costa 

 broadly ochreous. Stewart Island: Table Hill and Rakiahua. 2000 feet, on open hilltops. 



N. orphnaea Jleyr. (24 g). A large and rather shaggy species, the cJ with long pectinati(ms. The wings <,rphiuiea. 

 in this sex always very dark. at times almost black, so that the markings become quite weak; the $, as with 

 anthracias. less dark. Fringes strongly chequered, blackish and white. Distributed locally in the mountains, 

 3000 feet and upward. 



N. villosa Philpott (24 g). Expanse of J 35— 3Smm; pectinations 2 mm. "their highest development n7/.wa. 

 [in A^oiorcas\. and it is significant that this is coincident with tiie semiapterous condition of the 2". The 

 (^ forewing is light ochreous-brown, offen densely irrorated with white, markings white, antemedian bent out- 

 wardly near costa, then oblique inward, distally dark-edged, postmedian broad, oblique inward, bisinuate. 

 dark-edged proximally, subterminal broad, waved; hindwing rather narrow, brownish fuscous. densely irro- 

 rated with grey-whitish to -3; one or t wo ciuved white fasciae beyond middle. ? 16 mm, wings oblong, narrow, 

 apex of forewing subacute, termen and abdominal margin of hindwing slightly concave; white, minutely 

 speckled with dark fuscous. (Abridged from Philpott.) South Island; The Hump (Waiau) and Hiniter ]\Ioun 

 tains, common in well-grassed situations at 3000 to 4000 feet. Probably an oft'shoot of orphnaea. 



N. insignis Bull. (24 g). Strikingly distinct and needing no detailed description. The $ is considerably insigni),. 

 smaller and much paler than the figiu'ed ^. South Island especially the Lake Wakatipu district. The Originals 

 were perhaps from Castle Hill. Eny.s. according to Butler, took one at (iOOO feet. 



N. synclinalis Huds. (24 h) is much smaller and darker and equally unmistakable in its wing-markings. .•'//nrlimilis. 

 It was described from near Invercargill and is apparently confined to the south-western coastal region. including 

 Stewart Island. Common in suitable localities, inhabiting boggy country and the bare tops of some low hüls. 

 In the most exposed situations generally reduced in size. 



3. Genus: 1>asysteriiic*a T 



iirn. 



Charcters of Dasyuris, except that the areole is simple. In callicrena, but apparently not in the geno- 

 type trislis, the femora, in addition to breast and coxae, are hairy. üidy 4 species are recognized as belonging 

 here, the first from New Zealand the other 3 from Victoria and Tasmania : but in view of the occasion.al variability 

 of the areole in the grou^i (see D. Ijerlha and Notoreas julva) it is legitimate to question the ultimate validity 

 of the pre.sent Classification. 



D. callicrena J/e^/r. .(24 h). Very distinct in its rclatively large size. tlark ground-colour and hvo&d. call icrena. 

 whitish markings. Variation not important. though tlie siditernünal may bc either conspicuous or slight and 

 a more proximal position of the po.stmedian occasionall\- narrows the cential area. Xew Zealand. distributed in 

 the niountains of South Island, 300()"-4000 feet. 



D. tristis Bntl. (24 h). The smallest, darkest and most obscurely niarked of the genus, the hindwing IriMis. 

 elongate costally and on the upperside ahnost unicoiorous, the median band of the forewing widening very 

 little, the 4 lines niarked by whitish dots on the costa, otherwise very weak or obsolescent. X'ictoria: Mel- 

 bourne and a few other localities, not common. 



XII :52 



