LEPIDOPTERA 301 



what rarely seen in the south of the South Island, though he has 

 taken occasional specimens in Dunedin, and has seen it in fair numbers 

 at Oamaru and Queenstown. Mr W. W. Smith informs me that it is 

 common at New Plymouth, where it is very destructive to tomatoes, 

 the larvae eating the fruit. It is probably common throughout the 

 North Island. The larva is fond of burying itself in the flowers of 

 asters, etc. ; indeed its wide range of food plants makes it troublesome. 



Family Sphingidje 

 Sphinx convolvuli, Linn. Convolvulus Hawk Moth 

 Captain Hutton, and probably several other entomologists, con- 

 sider this cosmopolitan species to be indigenous. It was found in 

 Hawke's Bay, and recorded by Mr A. G. Butler in 1877. Sir W. Buller 

 reported it as common in Ohinemutu in 1879, ^^^ '^ was taken in 

 Auckland in 1882. Since then it has been taken in many parts of 

 New Zealand. Mr Howes suggests that, as it is commonly found 

 feeding on the Kumara (Ipomaea batatas), it was probably introduced 

 either along with that plant, or that it is a comparatively recent arrival 

 from Australia. 



Sphinx ligustri, Linn. Privet Hawk Moth 



Mr Howes reports this species as having been taken at Titahi 

 Bay near WelUngton. 



Chcerocampa celerio, Linn. Silver-stripe Moth 

 Mr Hudson recorded this first in 1904, where four specimens 

 were taken by different collectors in Nelson. It is a species of very 

 wide distribution, and Mr Hudson considered it a natural immigrant 

 from Australia, where it is common. Mr A. P. Buller recorded it 

 the same season from Titahi Bay, Wellington, where several specimens 

 were found at dusk by Mr C. O'Connor, feeding on the sweet-scented 

 Christmas lily {Lilium longiflorum ?). He considers it probable that 

 it was brought over to New Zealand by westerly winds, in view of the fact 

 that the Hawk-moth family are possessed of sustained powers of flight ; 

 indeed, I might mention that I have in my collection a fine Sphinx that 

 flew on board the R.M.S. 'Ruahine' when the vessel was some five 

 hundred miles off the coast of South America. 



Family Sesiid^ 



Trockilium tipuliforme, Clerck {Mgeria tipuliformis, 



Sesia tipuliformis). Currant Clear- wing Moth 



Introduced with the garden currant {Ribes rubrum) from Europe, 



and first bred from larvae so obtained by Mr Fereday in Christchurch 



in the early seventies. It has since then become very generally 



