268 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



easy to see, but by no means easy to catch, as they fly off rapidly 

 in their peculiar jerking manner if abruptly approached. When 

 the weather is dull they creep down amongst the thick stems, 

 and are then difficult to find, although when one's hand is drawn 

 over them they at once begin to chirrup, and so betray them- 

 selves. The males are a pale umber-brown, and the females a 

 light green ; the former were the most attractive bait. 



On one occasion, whilst hunting for these Cicadae, I found a 

 male Argyrophenga antipodwm sitting on a stem beside its empty 

 chrysalis ; the chrysalis was attached by the tail to the stem of 

 grass, after the ordinary Satyrid fashion. A prolonged search 

 failed to disclose any more, although I have no doubt that there 

 were many others close at hand ; but I frequently came across 

 larvae of different Leucanidce, and a strange -looking Pterophorus 

 was not uncommon, and when disturbed, instead of flying, it 

 endeavoured to creep and hide itself away amongst the thickest 

 stems. Many of the clumps were a good deal eaten, especially 

 the tops of the stems, and there was a quantity of old frass at the 

 roots of most of them. Probably anyone sweeping the tussocks 

 at night a month earlier would have been rewarded by the 

 discovery of the larva of A . antipodum, which I expect crawls up 

 the stems to feed, after the manner of Satyrus janira, S. tithonus, 

 Ccenonympha pamphilus, &c. ; and I am not aware that it has yet 

 been described by anyone. 



In addition to Argyrophenga antipodum, which was abundant 

 at Waipahi, Chrysophanus salustius was common ; but I saw no 

 C. boldenarum ; it was perhaps too far south for it. Lyccena 

 oxleyi occurred in some numbers, and L. phcebe was not rare. 

 This latter butterfly appears to be generally distributed throughout 

 New Zealand, Australia, and Tasmania ; and I have also taken it 

 in Fiji, the New Hebrides, and New Caledonia. 



The river ran within a few hundred yards of the little inn I 

 was staying at, and after my evening meal I strolled out to its 

 banks for a quiet pipe. Noctuse were flying in numbers over the 

 rushes and flax, and most of them appeared to be Leucanidce, 

 among which were Leucania semivittata, something like L. obso- 

 lete; and L. unica and L. sulcana, which are evidently antipodean 

 representatives of our English L. impura and L. pollens. Later 

 on Nitocris comma, a Noctua not unlike Noctua c-nigrum, came 

 fluttering round the lamp upon my sitting-room table ; and 



