Meyricr.—On New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera. 7 
Posterior tibie clothed with rather short rough hairs. Forewings with 
vein 7 to apex, 2 from before angle of cell. Hindwings with vein 5 bent 
and approximated to 4 at base. 
2. Prot. carnifex, Butl. 
ta ra Butl., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1877, 406; (Proteodes) Meyr., Proc. 
n. Soc .W., 1882, 493; Cryptolechia rufosparsa, Butl., 1.c. 406). : 
Media, peu d griseo-ochreis vel flavis, interdum ferrugineis, costa 
ferruginea, linea perobliqua punetoque disci obscuris griseis, venis omnibus 
punetis crebris griseis notatis; post. albis, apice leviter griseo. 
Male, female.—20-23 mm. Head, palpi, and thorax whitish-ochreous or 
yellow, palpi generally somewhat suffused with ferruginous. Antenne grey. 
Abdomen whitish. Legs ochreous-whitish, tarsi more ochreous, anterior 
tibie and tarsi dull ochreous-carmine. Forewings rather broad, posteriorly 
dilated, costa rather strongly arched, in female faintly sinuate in middle, 
apex obtuse, hindmargin nearly straight, not oblique; light greyish-ochreous 
or yellow, often irregularly suffused with reddish or ferruginous, sometimes 
wholly ; costal edge obscurely ferruginous or deeper yellow, except about 
+ and 2; sometimes an irregular greyish suffusion ; the darker shades of 
colour, when distinct, usually tend to form a very oblique transverse fascia 
before middle, extending along costa to base, and a large patch along 
posterior half of costa; a curved linear dark ferruginous or blackish-grey 
mark in disc, extending from } to 4, extremities directed upwards, generally 
obsolete in middle, or sometimes wholly ; all veins regularly dotted with 
blackish-grey, but these dots sometimes obsolete ; often a dark grey hind- 
marginal line : cilia light greyish-ochreous or yellow. Hindwings whitish, 
apex often narrowly suffused with grey, sometimes with a grey ragga 
line; cilia whitish. 
Extremely variable; the yellow and ferruginous forms (which are 
principally characteristic of the female) are strikingly similar in size, shape, 
and colouring to the decaying or fallen leaves of the beech, which is its 
principal food-plant. Mr. J. D. Enys called my attention to this mimetic 
resemblance, in which most of the beech-feeding insects participate. 
Larva 16-legged, rather stout, cylindrical, tapering behind ; pale 
whitish-green or yellowish-green, on sides generally more greyish-green ; 
dorsal broad, irregular, dark fuscous-purple, sap-green, or yellowish-green 
mixed with reddish-ochreous, bisected by a slender interrupted whitish-line, 
and dilated on posterior margin of segments ; lateral sap-green or obsolete ; 
subspiracular slender, interrupted, dark fuscous-purple or faintly pinkish ; 
spots small, shining, dark-fuscous ; head ochreous-brown or yellowish- 
green ; second segment greener than body, or blackish marbled with pale 
ochreous ; remarkably variable. Feeds on Fagus solandri (the common 
