28 ON THE GENUS CHARAGIA OF WALKER, 



1. — Charagu virescens. 



Charagia virescens. Brit. Mus. Cat. Lep. Set., p. 1569. 

 Charagia rubroviridans. Brit. Mus. Cat. Lep. Set, p. 1570. 

 Hepialus rubroviridans. Stephens M.S S. 

 Hepialus virescens. Doubleclay fDiiffenbach' s Neiv Zealand.) 



Male length of w^ings 49 lines : of body 26 lines^ 



Superior wings, lovely bluish green, relieved by 

 various silver markings, which consist of: — a line 

 along the basal portion of the costa ; an irregular 

 broadish obliquely transverse band a little beyond the 

 middle ; another semicircular one nearer to the base, 

 with numerous others, small and famt, disposed 

 transversely between the nervures and terminating in 

 lunules at the exterior border. 

 Inferior wings, delicate bluish-white. 

 Abdomen and thorax bluish-green. Eyes reddish- 

 brown. Antennce tawny. 



Female length of wings 62 lines : of body 28 lines. 



Superior ivings, bright green with numerous distinct 

 irregular reddish-brown bands and lines mostly dis- 

 posed transversely. The costa is barred wdth green 

 and brown, and the whole wing edged by reddish- 

 brown, the exterior portion being indistinctly scal- 

 loped. 



Inferior wings, pale purplish-red. 



Abdomen purplish red, becoming green towards the 

 extremity. Thorax green. Eyes and Antenn(s simi- 

 lar in colour to those of the Male. 



Larva length at maturity about 37 lines, is throughout of a 



pale ochreous tint, with the squamose portions much 

 darker, and the head black-brown. 



These caterpillars were found in great abundance near the 

 town of Auckland by my friend Mr. Edward Ramsay, of Do- 

 broyde, near Sydney, when on a visit to New Zealand. 



They inhabited the limbs of various trees, and on the stem 



1 1 2 lines to the English inch. 



