76 THE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



GEOMETRID NOTES. 



By Louis B. Prout, F.E.S. 



1. Operophtera relegata, mibi, n. nom.=NEXiFASCiATA, Leech, 



nee Butl. 



I find that the Japanese species of Operojjhtera catalogued by 

 Mr. Leech (Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (6), xix. 671) as Oporahia nexi- 

 fasciata has never been named. The true 0. nexifasciata of 

 Butler (Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1881, 420) was, as his descrip- 

 tion and type-specimen show, synonymous with, or at least 

 extremely close to, H}/driomena /areata, Thnhg.:=sordidata, Fb., 

 and the transference of the name evidently came about through 

 Butler having placed it in Oporahia, and compared it with dilu- 

 tata, which gives, at the outset, an entirely erroneous impression. 

 I have measured the type-specimen, and find it barely 1 inch 

 5 lines, not "1 inch 6 lines," as Butler gives. The new species 

 {relegata) is clearly an Operophtera, showing all the structural 

 characters given by Meyrick for that genus.* Leech's descrip- 

 tion — "very closely allied to Oporahia dilutata, Bork., but the 

 antennse are more strongly fasciculated, and the first transverse 

 band of primaries is straight " — evidently overlooks the neura- 

 tion, and may be emended and amplified as follows : — 



Operophtera relegata, mihi. — Male, 35-40 mm. Whitish 

 grey, speckled with fuscous, more sparsely behind second band. 

 Basal line angulated, followed by some very ill-defined dark lines 

 or shadings; inner line at a little beyond one-third, accompanied 

 behind by another line, the interspace usually filled in with 

 fuscous so as to form a narrow bar which runs nearly straight 

 from costa to inner margin, or slightly oblique inwards ; outer 

 line at beyond one-half, formed much as in Epirrita dilutata, 

 followed by a rather broad diffuse fuscous shade, which is 

 traversed by other indistinct Hues, and forms a vague band ; 

 subterminal slightly nearer margin than in E. dilutata ; margi- 

 nal area more or less marked with fuscous, a short oblique dash 

 just below apex ; a very fine inconspicuous dark marginal line ; 

 fringes nearly concolorous, inner half slightly darker than outer, 

 inconspicuously fuscous spotted at vein ends. Hind wings paler, 

 traversed by a few indistinct pale fuscous lines, the most definite 

 being near to and parallel with the hind margin. Under side 

 weakly marked, otherwise similar to upper. A somewhat 

 variable species in the distinctness and exact position of the 

 transverse lines, but uniform in colour and general aspect. 

 Female unknown. The male resembles E. dilutata, but with 

 fore wings slightly narrower, and more acute at the apex. 



'•' Vein 6 of the fore wings is shorter-stalked with 7-9 than in 0. bruniata 

 and horeata, but this is liable to some individual variation in the genus ; see 

 infra on O.jafonaria. 



