MELIANA] CARADRINIDAE 67 



(Phragmites) ; 8, 9. The larva hides itself by day in the old 

 reed-stems. 



13. LEUCANIA, 0. 



Head rough-scaled ; eyes hairy. Antennae in $ ciliated. 

 Thorax with or without slight anterior crest. Abdomen not 

 crested. 



A very large cosmopolitan genus, equally common every- 

 where ; it is a development of Melanchra, to which some of the 

 New Zealand species give such a complete transition that a 

 line of demarcation can hardly be drawn. The larvae all feed 

 on Gramineae. 



1. First and second lines dark, entire . . 2. 



dotted or absent . 4. 



2. Hindwings brassy-whitish . . 7. vitellina. 



,, not whitish . . . .3. 



3. First line sharply angulated below middle 6. conigera. 



not angulated below middle . 1. turca. 



4. Forewings with black median basal dash . 5. 



without black basal dash . . 7. 



5. Reniform forming a clear white dot . . 6. 



not forming a white dot . 8. comma. 



6. Hindwings wholly white . . 4. Loreyi. 



with terinen fuscous . 9. putrescens. 



7. Forewings with white median streak throughout 



5. littoralis. 

 without such streak . . 8. 



8. Second line indicated by dots . . .9. 



wholly absent . .12. impudens. 



9. Second line indicated by a series of dots . 10. 



,, ,, by two dots only . .13. 



10. Forewings with distinct oblique apical fuscous 



dash . . .11. unipuncta. 



,, without such dash . . .11. 



11. Veins whitish, outlined with fuscous . 10. obsoleta. 



not outlined with fuscous . .12. 



12. Reniform curved-linear . . .2. lithargyrea. 



dot-like . . .3. albipuncta. 



13. Hindwings with postmedian series of black marks 



13. straminea. 

 without such series . . .14. 



14. Hindwings dark grey . . .14. impura. 



white . . 15. pollens. 



