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54 IX.—THE NOCTUIDAE. 
The expansion of the wings is from 14 to 1? inches. The 
fore-wings are light ochreous with the veins white; there is a 
shaded, brownish, longitudinal streak near the apex, another 
from the end of the cell to the termen, a stronger streak from 
the base of the wing to middle of termen, and another near 
dorsum; there is a minute black dot near the base above the 
middle, a slightly larger dot at! about one-third, a conspicuous 
dot between the origins of veins 3 and 4, and a very minute 
dot on vein 6. The hind-wings are dark blackish-grey, with the 
cilia paler. 
The larva, immediately before its last moult, is about 1 inch 
in length, rather stout, cylindrical, slightly tapering at each 
end; the head is greenish-white, with two faint streaks and a very 
faint mottling; the body bright green with a conspicuous pinkish- 
white lateral line; a fine double dark green dorsal line, and a 
very fine dark green subdorsal line; between the. principal lines 
there are numerous very slender yellowish streaks and the seg- 
mental divisions are marked in yellow. The full-grown larva is 
about 13 inches in length, much attenuated posteriorly, pale 
reddish-ochreous, with numerous fine wavy darker lines; the 
subdorsal and lateral lines are straight! and much more conspicu- 
ous; the spiracles are black, and there is a dark olive-green line 
down the midback. 
broad-leaved native grass, common in open glades in the forest. 
The pupa is buried in the earth. 
The perfect insect appears in February, March and 
April, and is usually taken at sugar. 
LEUCANIA STULTA. 
(Leucania stulta, Philp., Trans. N.Z. Inst., xxxvii. 329, pl. xx. 1.) 
(Plate VIL. fig. 12 9.) 
This rather dull-looking, but very distinct’ species was 
discovered by Mr. Philpott at West Plains, near Inver- 
cargill. It has also been taken at Waipori, and, by Mr. 
Robt. Gibb, at Tuturau, in the same district. A much 
more brightly-coloured form of this species occurs on the 
lower slopes of Mount Ruapehu, in the North Island. 
The expansion of the wings is from 1} tlo 18 inches. The 
fore-wings are pale ochreous-brown; there is a very short brown 
streak near the termen below the apex; an almost continuous, 
slightly-curved fine dark brown longitudinal streak from near 
the base to the middle of the termen; a much shorter streak 
on the termen below this; a rather confused, cloudy, longitudinal 
brown streak from. the base to the termen below the middle and 
a short brown streak on the dorsum at the base; between the 
brown streaks the ground-colour of the wing is almost white but 
the veins are slightly darker. The hind-wings are dull brown. 
The cilia of all the wings are pale dull ochreous. 
The perfect insect appears from 
December, but is rarely met with. 
October till 
LEUCANIA HARTI. 
(Leucania harti, Howes, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xlvi. 95.) 
(Plate TX... fig. 16: 2.) 
This species was discovered by Mr. S. Hart at the 
Cape Egmont Lighthouse. 
The expansion of the wings is 14 inches. The fore-wings 
are silvery-grey, very slightly tinged with dark dull red; the 
basal, first and second lines are distinct dark red; the median 
shade is very conspicuous dark red; the orbicular is round the 
claviform conical, both outlined in dark red; the reniform is 
The food-plant is Microlaena avenacea, a™ 
large crescentic dark reddish towurds the base, dull ochreous 
towards the termen; there is a series of indistinct reddish sub- 
terminal spots and a sub-apical blotch. The hind-wings are 
brownish-ochreous darker towards the termen. The head is 
grey, the thorax dark red and the abdomen pale ochreous-brown 
with a reddish terminal tuft. 
_ The perfect insect appears in March, and is attracted 
by light. 
Described and figured from the type specimen kindly 
lent to me by Mr. Howes. 
Genus 10.—ALETIA, Hiibn. 
Face without prominence. Antennae in male ciliated or bi- 
pectinated with apex simple. Thorax clothed with hair or hair- 
scales with anterior and posterior spreading crests. Abdomen 
with small crest on basal segment. 
(Plate C., fig. 11. Head of Aletia nullifera.) 
A very large and cosmopolitan genus, represented in 
New Zealand by twenty-one species, of which two are 
restricted to the North Island, ten to the South Island, 
and nine common to both islands. 
ALETIA MICRASTRA, 
(Leucania micrastra, Meyr., Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1897, 383.) 
(Plate VII., fig. 13 9.) i 
This bright-looking species has occurred near Well- 
ington, at Waipori, Central Otago, Gore and Invercargill. 
The expansion of the wings is 13 inches. The fore-wings 
are bright orange-brown, there are several white scales near the 
base, two black-edged white dots at about one-third, a small 
black spot with a shining white dot on each side of it at the 
origin of veins 3 and 4, and a series of black and white dots on 
all the veins near the termen; the cilia are orange-brown tipped 
with white. The hind-wings are pale ochreous-brown; the cilia 
are ochreous broadly tipped with white. 
This species somewhat resembles Leucania alopa in 
general appearance, but the wings are narrower and the 
colour of the fore-wings is considerably brighter. 
The moth appears from December till March, but is 
very rarely met with. 
ALETIA UNIPUNCTA. 
(Leucania wnipuncta, Haw., Lepidoptera Britannica, p. 174, No. 37. 
Leucania extranea, Gn., Noct. i. 77; Butl., Voy. Ereb., pl. 
ix. 2; Meyr., Trans.,.N.Z, Inst. xrx.) 12.) 
(Plate VIL. fig. 14 9.) 
This well-known cosmopolitan species appears to be 
generally distributed throughout both North and South 
Islands. 
The expansion of the wings is 1} inches. The fore-wings 
vary from dull ochreous to bright reddish-o¢hreous; there are 
numerous indistinct blackish dots; the orbicular and reniform 
are almost round and slightly paler than the rest of the wing; 
there is a minute white dot immediately below the reniform and 
an obscure, oblique blackish line from the apex of the wing 
ending in a series of minute black dots; the termen is not in- 
dented. The hind-wings are grey, darker near the termen; the 
cilia are white. 
Varies considerably in the ground colour and in the 
extent of the black speckling. 
