30 
DASEOCHAETA. By M. Gaedk. 
^erhencda. 
nalgassica 
2. Family: Noctuldae. 
The African Noctuid fauna is relatively poor according to our ju'esent knowledge which, we must admit, 
is the most imperfect of all the faunae; their niimber attains hardly one third of, for instance, the American 
Noctuae. The general impression is almost palaearctic and, correspondingly, we find chiefly grey and brown 
tints in most of the genei’a the greater part of which are well known to us from Vol. 3. More conspicuous forms 
are especially encountered in Madagascar, dark red insects with black and orange markings. They do not re¬ 
occur in any other fauna. For instance, the odd Epicausis smithii assigned to the Mominae, with an abnormal 
hairy abdomen, and the smaller Adai^haenura niinuscida. Strange are also the variegated species of Diaphone 
resembling Arctiids, and the yellow and red Mazuca haemagrapha. 
By far the greatest numbers are represented by the Cirphis, Borolia, and Meliana from the Hadenidae, 
and the mostly somewhat smaller Acrapex and Sesamia belonging to the Zenobiinae. They inhabit especially 
the grassy steppes which are at the same time the main habitat of the great number of small and dimiimtive 
Erastriinae which have numerous representatives in Africa. To the Sarrothrijymae belong the remarkably large 
and variegated species of Eligma, the best known representative of which is the Indian E. narcissus which we 
find numbered yet among the Arctiidae in Vol. 2 and figm’ed on pi. 13 1. Numerous representatives are ex¬ 
hibited by the Stictoperinae in the genus Eutelia, besides the very strange two species of Gigantoceras with their 
immensely long antennae. 
There are no Cafoccda whatever to be found in the African fauna, and compared with the American 
and Indo-Australian faunae, the Noctuines are also ]Joor. Nevertheless, some larger and also variegated species 
occur, such as the beautiful Miniodes with rosy-red hindwings. As for further particulars, we refer our readers 
to the introduction to Vol. 3. 
1. Subfamily: Acronyctinae. 
The larvae of this group and the following are hairy. The imagines have elongate forewings which 
invariably exhibit an areole. Vein 5 of the hindwing, which is much feebler than the other veins, arises from 
the centre of the cross-vein. 
1. Genus: 1>aseoeliaeta Warr. 
Pi'oboscis developed, frons even, palpi bent up, the second joint hairy in front, the third rather long, 
not hairy. Thorax tufted in front and behind, abdomen with a row of tufts. Forewing with a slightly rounded 
a})ex. Veins 3—.3 close together from the lower cell-angle, vein b from the upper angle. 7 and 8 + 9 from the 
apex of the areole, Id a little more basad, 11 free. Hindwing; vein 5 from the centre of the cross-vein, feebler 
than the others, 3 and 4 from the lower cell-angle, 6 and 7 from the upper angle. Type: viridis Leech from Japan. 
Sections 1—4 not Ethiopian. 
Section 5. Antennae of ciliated. 
D. verbenata Bist. (5 a). Forewing light green. Interior line vertical, white edged with black scales. 
Ring-macula and i-eniform macula small, white, laterally black and with a black spot between. A black streak 
from the costal margin behind the centre. Exterior line black, finely edged with white inside, a few dark spots 
behind it. Abdomen and hindwing light brown, whitish at the base. E dim. Transvaal. 
D. malgassica Kenr. is similarly coloured as verbenata, but with more intense markings. Two radial 
streaks at the base. The interior, middle, and exterior lines spotted, the two last connected lieloiv vein 2. A 
spot before the anal angle. Abdomen and hindwing as in verbenata. $ 40 mm. Madagascar. 
