




58 IX.—THE 
The expansion of the wings is nearly 14 inches. The fore- 
wings are rather short with the termen rather oblique; dull 
bluish-grey speckled with blackish-grey and with blackish mark- 
ings; the first line is thick and broken, consisting of five almost 
distinct curved spots; the orbicular is irregularly oval, margined 
first with cream-colour and then with blackish; the reniform is 
large, oblong, similarly margined on its sides only; the claviform 
is small, blackish, very indistinct; the second line is also indis- 
tinct; there is a series of very distinct blackish, wedge-shaped 
sub-terminal marks, each with a small cream-coloured spot 
towards the termen. The hind-wings are grey, paler towards the 
base. 
The perfect insect appears in March. 
ALETIA CUCULLINA. 
(Xylocampa cucullina, Guen., Ent. Mo. Mag., v., 40; Mamnestra 
cucullina, Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst., xix., 28; Aletia funerea, 
Philp., ib., lvii., 703.) 
(QUES Ailey sikez ai 480) 
This species has occurred at Mount Arthur, and at: 
Rakaia. 
The expansion of the wings is 18 inches. The fore-wings 
are bluish-grey, speckled and dappled with dark brown, there is 
a pale transverse line near the base, partially edged with black; 
the orbicular is round, containing a blackish dot in the middle; 
the reniform is elongateoval, including a cloudy spot; the space 
surrounding the stigmata is clouded with dark brown; there is 
a terminal series of small blackish crescentic marks, and the 
cilia are dark grey. The hind-wings are brownish-grey; the cilia 
also grey tipped with white. 
The perfect insect appears from January till March. 
I have taken it at light on the Tableland of Mount Arthur, 
at 3,600 feet above the sea-level. 
A very handsome form of this insect, from the Mount 
Arthur Tableland, with the stigmatic region of the fore- 
wings heavily suffused with black, is described by Mr. 
Philpott as Aletia funerea. 
ALETIA LONGSTAFFI. 
(Morrisonia longstafi, Howes, Trans. N.Z. Inst., xliii., 128, pl. 1, 
3; Butterfly Hunting in many Lands, pl. vi. 3.) 
(Plate IX., fig. 25 4.) 
This neat-looking little species was discovered by Mr. 
Howes at Dunedin. It has also occurred at Silverstream 
and York Bay near Wellington, at Queenstown and at 
Paradise in the Lake Wakatipu district, and at Invercar- 
gill. 
The expansion of the wings is barely 14 inches. The fore- 
wings are pale grey with very distinct dark brown markings; 
there are two short, slender lines at the base; the first line is 
double, moderately waved; the orbicular oval rather faint; the 
claviform obscurely indicated by a curved line; the reniform 
large, very distinct and thickly outlined in blackish-brown; the 
second line is very faint; the sub-terminal line consists of a 
series of brown spots between the veins, the veins themselves 
being marked by elongate blackish dots. The hind-wings are 
brownish-grey,. 
The perfect insect appears in February and March. 

NOCTUIDAE. 
ALETIA OBSECRATA. 
(Aletia obsecrata, Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst., xlvi., 101.) 
(Plate ‘IX., fig. 17 3, 18 9.) 
This rather obscure species has occurred on Ben 
Lomond and the Remarkable Mountains, Lake Wakatipu, 
at elevations of from 2,000 to 3,000 feet above the sea-level. 
The expansion of the wings of the male is 14 inches; of 
the female nearly 14 inches. The fore-wings of the male are 
elongate-oblong with the termen bowed; pale grey, more or less 
speckled with black and white, with blackish markings; the 
basal and first lines are distinct, moderately dentate; the median 
shade is very dark; the claviform invisible and the orbicular 
indistinct; the reniform is large, oblong, with the corners 
slightly rounded, whitish outlined in black; the second line is 
distinct, dentate, with the space between its upper portion and 
the reniform clouded with dark greyish-ochreous; other portions 
of the fore-wings are also faintly tinged with ochreous; the 
veins are obscurely marked with black towards the termen and 
there is a terminal series of blackish dots. The hind-wings are 
very dark grey tinged with ochreous and shaded with blackish 
towards the termen. In the female the fore-wings are deep 
bluish-grey with blackish-grey markings; the transverse lines 
are very indistinct; the orbicular is elliptical; the reniform 
large, trapezoidal, with its angles rounded; there is a series of 
sub-terminal spots between the veins and a terminal series of 
blackish dots, the veins themselves being dotitied with blackish- 
grey. The hind-wings are brownish-grey, paler towards the 
base. 
Superficially this species somewhat resembles Aletia 
longstaffi, in which, however, the markings are deep brown 
in place of blackish. Melanchra lithias is also somewhat 
similar but its general colouring is much paler. 
The perfect insect appears from November till Feb- 
ruary, and flies swiftly by day over Dracophyllum and 
other rough herbage on the mountain sides. 
ALETIA PARMATA. 
(Aletia parmuta, Philp., Trans. N.Z. Inst., lvi., 387.) 
(PlateexX Sarcoma) 
This little species was discovered by Mr. S. Lindsay at 
Mount Grey, Canterbury. 
The expansion of the wings is 14 inches. The fore-wings 
are pale grey, thickly speckled with darker grey, the transverse 
lines and median shade being obscurely indicated by denser 
speckling; the orbicular and reniform stigmata are large, very 
conspicuous, finely outlined in black, and much paler in colour 
than the rest of the wing; the claviform is also outlined in 
black, wedge-shaped, obscure; all the veins are faintly marked 
in blackish. The hind-wings are dark ochreous-grey, paler 
towards base. 
An obscure species, but apparently sufficiently distinct 
by its relatively small size and large reniform and orbicular 
stigmata. 
The perfect insect appears in February. 
Described and figured from specimen kindly lent by 
Mr. Philpott. 
ALETIA SOLLENNIS. 
(Aletia sollennis, Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst., xlvi., 101.) 
(Plate X., fig. 1 @.) 
This very. obscurely-marked species was discovered by 
Mr. H. Howes at Waipori, Central Otago. 
