6 
MICROLEPIDOPTERA OF NEW GUINEA 
of the Tropics ; the total area of the localities explored by the Expedition 
shrinks into insignificance in comparison with the expanse of this enormous 
island. 
In saying this we are far from having the intention to belittle the results 
of the Expedition. On the contrary, these are excellent; and we wish to 
express at this place our admiration for the zeal and the energy of the 
leader of the Expedition, Mr Richard Archbold, and of his collaborators, 
and to bring tribute to the perseverance and skill of the Dutch Ento- 
mologists, the late Dr L. J. Toxopeus and the late J. Olthof, and to 
their Indonesian assistants, for the results achieved. 
The very satisfactory condition of the collection is due to the great 
care with which the material has been captured, killed, labelled, and 
treated afterwards. We can hardly understand how the collectors could 
find time and opportunity to treat their spoils in such a careful way in the 
conditions of the collecting camps, while preventing damage by moisture 
and ants. They attended to the preservation of the collected material 
immediately after capture, often after long and tiresome trips through 
rough country. Small moths were killed separately from large specimens, 
and immediately afterwards stuck on minute pins, and put in cardboard 
boxes to prevent rubbing off; larger species were preserved in paper 
triangles. As the expedition was in possession of an airplane, the collections 
were quickly transported to the base camp at Hollandia, whence they 
were sent by steamer to Batavia, and further by motorcar to the Buitenzorg 
Museum. Scrupulous labelling of every specimen on the spot, with records 
of place, date and elevation, appeared afterwards to be extremely useful. 
The study of the present collection was started in the end of 1941 but 
at first proceeded slowly, due to the tiresome setting of hundreds of 
specimens, mainly by the author himself. The outbreak of the Pacific War 
put a stop to this work. It could be resumed not before the middle of the 
year 1947. Fortunately the entire collection stood at the Buitenzorg 
Museum the years of the Japanese occupation of Java. 
The collective name “Microlepidoptera” comprises the group of families 
of Lepidoptera joined together not only on account of their true taxonomic 
relationship but also out of habit of long usage. Thus the isolated group 
of the Plume Moths or Alucitidae is included in the present paper, while 
the entire extensive superfamily Pyraloidea, with which the Alucitidae 
may possess certain affinities, is excluded. 
In order to facilitate the discrimination of newly described forms, a key 
to all genera known to occur in the Papuan region is given for every 
family dealt with in this paper, and, for every genus dealt with, a key to 
the Papuan species. It seemed desirable to include in these keys also the 
genera and species recorded from the Bismarck Archipelago, the Kei 
Islands and the satellite islands of New Guinea 1 ). Such keys are also 
b Of the Aru Islands no records of Microlepidoptera seem to be available. 
