Publ. 10. 111. 1911. MEEISTIS; DADICA; STEEPSELYDNA ; ELYLNA. By W. Warren. 229 



07. Genus: Jleristis Hbn. 



Tongue developed; frons smooth, rounded; palpi upcurved in front of face, short and smoothly 

 scaled, the third segment short and blunt: antennae of o with pedicellate fascicles of cilia; thorax and 

 abdomen without crests; forewing broad with rectangular apex. Larva subterranean in habit, feeding on 

 low plants. Type ^[^^nstl.^< trigrammica Hufn. 



M. trigrammica Hiifn. (= trilinea Scliiff.. (juercus .F.) (-46 i). Forewing whitish ochreous finely ij& awi ~ 

 dusted with olive brown, sometimes with a slight ochraceous or pinkish tinge, and with a darker shade 

 just before termen: crossed by 3 brown lines, of which the inner is somewhat oblique outwards, and the 

 outer inwards: the median generally a little thicker, sometimes followed by a distinct dark shade; hindwing 

 pale to dark grey, varying according to the forewing; — in the form evidens Thribg, (4b' i) the forewing is evidens. 

 rufous ochreous or yellow ochreous, the hindwing darker; — bilinea Hbn. (46 i) a rare form, has the space bilinea. 

 between inner and median lines dark, the rest of the wing being reddish grey; — in perrufa ab. nov. (46 i) perrufa. 

 the whole wing is rufous, with the median shade absent or obscure; — obscura Tutt (= bilinea Haw. nee obscura. 

 Hbn.) (46 i) is dull olive fuscous with the median shade hardly visible, the hindwing also dark fuscous; 

 while pallidalinea Tutt ( = bilinea Tr. nee Hbn.) has the inner line obsolete, the other two pale; — semi- pallujalinea. 



SBVyifhfUSCGI/YlS 



fuscans Hair. (4(1 i) has the ground colour of the type, whitish ochreous, as far as the median line, the 

 outer half being dark, the median line followed externally by a dark shade and the termen preceded by a 

 similar shade: the ab. fringsii Schultz has only one transverse line; — lastly, erubescens Trti, from Sicily, Jrubescens 

 is a dark brown form with the median line present. Common in North and Central Europe, also in 

 S. France. Italy. Dalmatia and S. Russia, and in Asia Minor and Armenia. Larva dark grey or reddish 

 brown; dorsal line pale marked with black at the segmental incisions; subdorsal lines interrupted, pale, 

 often with oblique dark marks above them; spiracular line pale, dark-edged above; head brown; feeds on 

 plantain from autumn to spring, hiding in the ground. 



98. Genus: Dadica Moore. 



Tongue present; frons smooth; palpi obliquely upturned, the terminal segment distinct; thorax and 

 abdomen stout, without crests: scaling smooth; antennae of $ ciliated; anal claspers of <J, when ex- 

 panded, large and hairy: underside of hindwing of $ clothed in parts with beds of rough scales and hair. 

 Type D. lineosa Moore. 



D. lineosa Moore. (46 i, k). Forewing fuscous; lines blackish, distinct; inner line curved at lineosa. 

 costa, then nearly vertical, slightly indented on submedian fold; outer line curved, sometimes a little bent 



on vein 6: median shade diffuse, oblique to lower end of cell, then vertical; orbicular stigma a black dot; 

 reniform a snow white spot with a faint white dot above it; submarginal line waved, indistinct; outer 

 line sometimes with short teeth marked on the veins; hindw T ing fuscous. Described as an Indian species, 

 but occurring also in Japan. 



99. Genus: Strepselydna gen. nov. 



Differs from Dadica Moore in the hindwing of the <$ having no beds of rough hair and scales on 

 the underside; the termen of both wings is indented in middle, and the costa of forewing slightly shoul- 

 dered at base; the abdomen of £ is laterally tufted; palpi more smoothly scaled, upcurved in front of 

 face. Type S. truncipennis Hmps. 



S. truncipennis Hmps. (46 k). Forewing fuscous; inner line nearly vertical, blackish; outer line I^^' s 

 shortly bent outwards at costa and again above inner margin, vertical between, with dark teeth marked 

 on the veins; reniform stigma dull yellow, with a white dot above it and two below; hindwing dirty 

 whitish, fuscous towards termen; the cellspot and veins dark. Japan. 



100. Genus: Elydna Walk. 



Likp Dadica Moore, but distinguished by the simple scaling of the underside of the hindwings of 

 the o, agreeing herein with Strepselydna. but the wings are of normal shape. Type E. transversa Walk. 



E. albisignata Oberth. (= albosignata Oberih.) (46 k). Forewing dark brownish fuscous, dusted with albisignata. 

 dark; inner line curved, and indented on submedian fold; outer line somewhat variable, curved or bent, 



with dark clashes on the veins beyond it; veins towards termen and the median vein dark; reniform a 

 white spot on a dark one; median shade diffuse, sinuate; hindwing whitish overspread with fuscous; in 

 ab. coeca Oberth. (46 k) the white spot of reniform is absent; this appears to be the commoner form, coeca. 

 Amurland and Japan. 



Ill 30 



