Meryrick.—On New Zealand Geometrina. 49 
Inprx or Spacres—continued. 
galaxias, n. sp. FU deu Eos sordida, Butl. Ki SERA 
griseata, Butl. su s. 44, spartodeta, n.Sp. .. pe EA 
hamatella, Walk. .. ie Dd. taongella, Feld. Rp ks AU. 
hemimochla, n. 8p. .. he AL, teras, Feld. .. .. <. 20. 
homodoxa, n. sp. .. Le "UU. tholodella, n. sp. œ. ci 29. 
hoplodesma, n. BD. i $1452. . utuella, Feld. La e BE 
horza, n. sp. Es t. 45. zophoéssa, Meyr. .. pie 
huttonii, Butl, SE «v 18. 
Art. IL.—4 Monograph of the New Zealand Geometrina. 
By E. Merxricx, B.A. 
[Read before the Philosophical Institute of Canterbury, 2nd August, 1883.] 
I unpertoox the preparation of this paper, the subject of which does not fall 
within the limits of my special duty, by request ; and on the conviction that 
the work was both highly desirable, and not otherwise likely to be executed. 
The Geometrina are naturally the first group to attract the attention of 
Lepidopterists in New Zealand ; the butterflies and Bombycina are but few 
in number ; the Noctuina also are neither numerous nor obtrusive. But the 
Geometrina are present everywhere, and are often elegantly or even 
briliantly coloured, and their great variability makes them appear more 
numerous specifically than they are. Notwithstanding, it has been so 
impracticable for local collectors to get their specimens named, that very 
few have as yet attempted to do any good with them. The literature on 
the subject consists entirely of scattered papers and lists, all partial, and 
generally quite irreconcilable with each other; and the accumulation of 
synonymy has been so great, that it might well alarm a beginner. Many 
of the forms described as species are merely varieties, and the genera and 
families adopted by English writers are in the main both unnatural and 
unintelligible, being based wholly on wing-form and superficial resemblauce, 
and necessarily incapable of accurate definition. The present paper is 
intended to provide a tolerably secure foundation for other workers, who 
will supply the omissions and correct the errors which were inseparable from 
the circumstances of the case. For their guidance, I will explain fully how 
far the paper is reliable. 
I have never before investigated the genera of the Geometrina, and have 
no access to any works bearing on species outside New Zealand, except 
Guenée's. The conclusions of Lederer and Heinemann have therefore not 
