II. THE NOTODONTINA. 93 



The perfect insect appears from November till March. It frequents dense forest, 

 and is most abundant at the flowers of the white rata in the evening. Earlier in the 

 year, before the rata blooms, it may sometimes be taken at sugar. 



AZELINA OPHIOPA, Meyr. 



(Gonophylla ophiopa, Meyr., Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1897, 387.) 

 (Plate X., fig. 26 <? , 27 $ variety, 28 ? .) 



This species has occurred occasionally in the neighbourhood of Wellington, but 

 has not yet been recorded from any other locality. 



The expansion of the wings is 1J inches. The fore-wings of the male are pale orange- 

 brown ; there is a doubly toothed shaded transverse line near the base, the teeth being marked 

 with two black spots ; a conspicuous wavy transverse line runs from the apex to the dorsuni, and 

 is also marked with several black dots; the space between the two transverse lines is paler than 

 the rest of the wing ; there is a row of small black dots on the termen, and the termen itself has 

 two small projections. The hind-wings are yellowish at the base, becoming orange beyond the 

 middle ; there is a faint brownish transverse line near the base, and a conspicuous wavy transverse 

 line at the middle, marked by a series of black dots ; this central transverse line divides the yellowish 

 ground colour of the basal area, from the orange ground colour of the rest of the wing. The 

 female is larger and duller than the male ; the fore-wings are yellowish drab, with the outer 

 transverse line dull red ; there is a series of minute black dots on the termen ; the hind-wings 

 are dull yellow, with a wavy central transverse line. 



The only variety of this species which has come under my observation is a 

 male. In this specimen all the wings are pale yellowish-brown, with very broad 

 black transverse lines. (See Plate X., fig. 27.) 



This insect is evidently closely allied to Azelina fortinata. It may, however, 

 be distinguished from that species by the smaller projections on the termen of the 

 fore- and hind-wings, and the dotted transverse lines of the male. 



The perfect insect appears from January till April. It is met with much later 

 in the season than either of the two other species of Azelina. It frequents forest, and 

 may be found on the blossoms of the white rata, but is, I think, the rarest of the genus. 



AZELINA FOETINATA, Gn. 



(Polygonia fortinata, Gn., E. M. M. v. 41. Caustoloma (?) ziczac, Feld. cxxxii. 4. Azelina fortinata', 



Trans. N. Z. Inst. xvi. 106.) 

 (Plate X., fig. 24 <?, 25 ? .) 



This beautiful insect occurs occasionally in forests in both the North and the 

 South Islands. It has been taken at Wellington, Nelson, Castle Hill, Akaroa, Mount 

 Hutt, West Plains and Otara. 



The expansion of the wings is 1 inches. The fore-wings of the male are pale orange-brown, 

 with a doubly toothed black transverse line near the base, and a less acutely toothed line beyond 

 the middle ; between these there is a black mark on the costa ; the termen has two large projections, 

 and several smaller ones ; between the outer transverse line and the termen there are several 

 small black markings. The hind-wings are yellowish, clouded with orange-brown towards the 

 termen, which also has several projections ; there is a faint blackish line near the base, and a 

 much stronger black line near the middle, starting from the dorsum and reaching about half-way 

 across the wing. The female has the fore-wings dark brown, with the central area between the 

 two transverse lines paler; the hind-wings are also considerably darker than those in the male. 



This species varies a little in the depth of the ground colour, but not otherwise. 



The perfect insect appears in December, January and February. It frequents 

 dense forest, and is generally disturbed from amongst ferns and undergrowth. 



