RANDOM NOTES ON NEW ZEALAND LEPDDOPTERA. 249 



only one female was taken. It was a great pleasure to make the 

 acquaintance of this strange species, — one I had often read and 

 heard of, and longed to see. Its flight and general appearance 

 are quite unlike that of any other species with which I am 

 acquainted. The males fly in a weak, sailing, flapping manner 

 a few feet above the tussock grass, and go away in a perfectly 

 straight line for a considerable distance before they alight. The 

 moment the sun becomes obscured they all disappear, settling 

 on the tussock grass and crawling down the stems towards the 

 base of the plant, when they turn head upwards and sit on a 

 stem until the sun shines again. They cease flying altogether 

 after four o'clock ; and after that hour, or earlier in the day 

 when the sun is obscured, they were frequently to be seen at rest 

 on the grass. The newly-emerged butterflies seem to take longer 

 flights than those which have been out for some time. Occa- 

 sionally they settled on flowers to feed ; but flowers were scarce, 

 and there were not many varieties to choose from, a small 

 dandelion and a starved kind of white clover being all I noticed. 

 It was a pretty sight to see a number of them on the wing 

 together, for as they slowly flapped or sailed along, the silver 

 streaks upon their under wings glittered in the bright sunshine, 

 and made them look very interesting and attractive. 



The next day the river was still high and discoloured ; so 

 after three or four hours fishing, with but poor success, I gave 

 it up, and again turned my attention to Entomology. It was 

 another glorious bright day with a cloudless sky, and deliciously 

 fresh invigorating breeze which came direct from the snow-clad 

 alps in the distance, but was not too cold or too strong to 

 prevent butterflies from appearing. A. antipodum was far more 

 numerous to-day, and a few females had emerged, but they were 

 in the proportion of one to twenty of the males. Nor were they 

 so active on the wing, for upon being disturbed, as one passed 

 through the grass, they simply flew for a little distance, settled 

 on a tussock, and tried to creep into the middle of it. Chryso- 

 phanus salustius was fairly common and in fine condition ; and 

 by the river's side, sitting sunning themselves upon the warm 

 shingle, the pretty little C. boldenarum was plentiful, but not 

 easy to catch, for directly it took wing it was difficult to see on 

 account of its small size and rapid flight. Geometrae were con- 

 spicuous by their absence, the only species noticed being Campto- 



ENTOM. — NOV., 1884. 2 k 



