828 
CHARAGIA. By R. Pfitzner f and M. Gaede. 
lignivorus. 
lamberti. 
splendens. 
acaciae. 
pomalis. 
tephropti- 
Ivs. 
asiathes. 
A straight dark line from 4 / 5 of the costal margin obliquely through the centre of the wing, enclosing a few 
silvery spots edged with pink. Two brown submarginal spots between the 5th subcostal branch and the 2nd 
radial vein. Fringe not spotted. Hindwing dingy brown, with a slight pink reflection, somewhat greenish 
at the costal and distal margins. $ 75 mm. New Guinea. 
2. Genus: Charagia Wkr. (Oenetus Rothsch.) 
It can only be ranked as a subgenus. Meyrick (Revision of Austr. Lep.) cancels it und unites the 
species with Hepialus , because there are no structural differences. Nevertheless it is advisable for practical 
reasons to keep up this subordinate group for the sake of perspicuity, and it can be substantiated by the 
fact that it is distinctly separated by conjoint marks. 1. In the shape: all the wings are more or less fal- 
cately extended. 2. In the colour: mostly iridescent greenish-blue, 9$ green and red of various shades. 
The strange merging of green and red tints is difficult to describe and probably unique in nature. 3. In 
the distribution: all the species belong to Australia and the neighbouring islands. 4. In the habits: the 
larvae live Cossid-like inside the trunks of trees. Another peculiarity is exhibited by the very conspicuous 
scent-tufts of the which are intended to allure the According to Dodd (Entomologist 1902, p. 73), 
they are appendages of the stunted last pair of legs in which each hair is covered with an extremely deli¬ 
cate tunic and forms a gland containing a yellowish liquid. This liquid emits a more or less strong scent 
which is particularly strong and sweet in the large Ch. mirabilis from Queensland and even keeps on long 
after the lepidopteron has been inserted in the collection. — As to the nomenclature, great confusion is still 
prevailing, and owing to the resemblance of the frequently intergrading species and to the general varia¬ 
bility of the Hepialidae it is hardly possible to obtain a clear and distinct notion everywhere. — We begin 
the description with the lignivorus- group. It contains the smallest Charagia, but it is of an extraordinary 
beauty. 
Ch. lignivorus Lew. (= venusta Scott) (74 b, 76 c). <$ 40—48 mm. Head whitish. Antennae reddish 
ochre. Thorax green, collar and tuft white. Forewing green with a white costal stripe and a white “Hepia- 
lid triangle”, hindwing white. $ 50—64 mm. Head, antennae, thorax dark brown. Forewing dark brown, 
clouded reddish. Marking light green; a very large triangular blotch in the disc, an irregular, somewhat oblong 
blotch along the distal margin from the apex to below the middle, connected with the anterior one by a bridge 
in the disc. Hindwing reddish ochre. The most common Charagia occurring in Australia (New South Wales, 
Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania). 
Ch. lamberti Wkr. (= lewinii Wkr.) (76b) is very closely allied to lignivorus. hindwing greenish 
white. $ forewing from a more brownish-red to the most beautiful purple red. 44—58 mm. New South 
Wales. Rarer. Larvae in Casuarinae and other trees. Denoted “ lewinii ” in the plate. 
Ch. splendens Scott (76 c) is by far the most beautiful form of the group. $ 60 mm. Forewing yel¬ 
lowish green, iridescent bluish-green in the median area and towards the distal margin. The very broad 
Hepialid marking, similar to that of lamberti, as well as a broad distal margin exhibit a silvery gloss. $ 80 mm, 
forewing from the most beautiful purple to purple brown. Apex and median area broad green, also a number 
of small spots at the inner margin and inner angle. Thorax dark green. Hindwing and abdomen pale purple 
red. New South Wales (Sydney) as far as Queensland. Larva in Casuarina, Eugenia smithi, Eucalyptus 
tereticornis, leucoxylon, and robusta. 
Another very closely allied form, perhaps a local form, is described by Froggatt. He bred this spe¬ 
cies from “grasswattle” (Acacia decarens). 
Ch. acaciae Pf. $ smaller than splendens, marking of forewing the same, but the brown tints much 
lighter, and the glaring green replaced by golden yellow. Hindwing and abdomen as in splendens, some¬ 
what lighter. <$ with pale green forewings, the white transverse band very slender, wings more pointed, less 
marbled, and the few spots in the posterior angles of the wings do not enclose a round ring. Hindwing pale 
whitish green. The larva, in contrast with other larvae of Charagia, bores only a hole 3 inches deep, and 
when it is ripe for the pupation it closes the entrance with a delicate, semi-transparent, skin-like lid. One 
generation per year, pupation in December, flying in January. 
Ch. pomalis Swh. (77 d). C apple-green, thorax with a yellowish-grey band, and similar hair at the 
base of the forewing. Hindwing and abdomen paler. Forewing with a thin greyish ochreous macular trans¬ 
verse band reaching neither the costa nor the inner margin. Wings beneath uniformly greenish grey, the 
apical parts with an intense yellow tinge. 65 mm. Queensland. 
Ch. fephroptilus Trnr. has broad wings. Thorax grey, greenish in front, abdomen blackish-brown, 
whitish ochreous at the base. Forewing grey, greenish at the base and costal margin. A few triangular white 
spots in the basal half. An interrupted narrow white band from 4 / 5 of the costal margin almost to the centre 
of the inner margin. A finer white band between this band and the distal margin. Hindwing grey. $ 112 mm. 
Albany (Australia). 
Ch. astathes Ti •nr. This species initiates the series of the greenish-red forms of Charagia, which are 
so very characteristic in Australia. The <$ thorax is whitish-pink with a green median line. Abdomen whitish 
