Meyrick. — On New Zealand Micro-Lepidoptera. 7 



Posterior tibiee 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. camifeoo, Butl. 



(Cryptolechia carnifex, Butl., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1877, 406; (Proteodes) Meyr., Proc. 

 Linn. Soc. N.S.W., 1882, 493 ; Cryptolechia rufosparsa, Butl., I.e. 406). 



Media, alis ant. griseo-ochreis vel flavis, interdum ferrugineis, costa 

 ferruginea, linea perobliqua punctoque disci obscuris griseis, venis omnibus 

 punctis crebris griseis notatis ; post, albis, apice leviter griseo. 



Male, female. — 20-23 mm. Head, palpi s and thorax whitish-ochreous or 

 yellow, palpi generally somewhat suffused with ferruginous. Antennae grey. 

 Abdomen whitish. Legs ochreous-whitish, tarsi more ochreous, anterior 

 tibise 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 §■ ; 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 f , 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 marginal 

 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 solanclri (the common 



