







48 IX.—_THE NOCTUIDAE. 
Abdomen without crests. Anterior tibiae short, thickened, not 
longer than first joint of tarsi. 
Of his rather limited, but’ generally distributed genus, 
we have three species in New Zealand. 
AGROTIS YPSILON. 
(Noctua ypsilon, Rott., Naturf., lx. 141; Agrotis suffusa, Hb., 
Samml. Eur. Schmett., 134; Agrotis ypsilon, Meyr., Trans. N.Z. 
Inst. xix oc.) 
(Plate VI., fig. 21 9%.) 
This handsome insect is common throughout the 
country, and it has occurred in the Chatham Islands. 
The expansion of the wings is 2 inches. The fore-wings are 
pale brown, shaded with rich brown on the costa and termen; 
the reniform is large and black, with a conspicuous longitudinal 
streak pointing towards the termen; the orbicular is round, cen- 
tred with black; the claviform is elongate; there is a dark shaded 
line below the reniform, followed by a double wavy transverse 
black line. The hind-wings are grey with pinkish reflections; 
they are shaded with darker grey towards the termen; the cilia 
are white, the head and thorax are dark brown, the abdomen 
grey. In the female the brown costal shading extends across 
the central portions of the fore-wings to the dorsum, and the 
general colouring is also darker. 
Some specimens have the entire ground colour of the 
fore-wings blackish-grey but otherwise there are no impor- 
tant variations. 
The larva, which feeds on the roots of many plants, is about 
two inches in length, cylindrical, flattened anteriorly, with very 
small blackish-brown head; the thoracic segments are consider- 
ably wrinkled, the second segment with a horny black dorsal 
plate, the third and fourth segments with a row of horny warts; 
dull lead colour, much paler and tinged with ochreous beneath; 
there are very obscure, darker, lateral and dorsal lines; each 
remaining segment has four conspicuous black warts, each wart 
emitting a short bristle. 
The pupa is red-brown with a very sharp, spine-like extrem- 
ity. It is concealed in the earth. 
The perfect insect appears from October till April. 
It is often very abundant at blossoms in the evening, and 
comes readily to sugar. It is an insect of almost universal 
distribution, occurring in Australia, China, India, Africa, 
Europe, and North and South America. 
AGROTIS SPINA. 
(Agrotis spina, Gn., Noct., i. 269; Philp., Trans. N.Z. Inst., lii. 42.) 
(Plate XLVIILI., fig. 35 @.) 
This Australian form has oceurred at Invereargill and 
probably elsewhere in New Zealand. 
The expansion of the wings is nearly 2 inches. The fore- 
wings of the male are rather bright yellowish-brown, clouded 
with deep purplish-brown on the terminal area; the markings 
almost exactly resemble those of A. ypsilon except that the black 
bar between the orbicular and reniform and the black dash beyond 
the reniform are much more conspicuous and the subterminal line 
is only slightly irregular instead of dentate. The hind-wings are 
grey-whitish, clouded with blackish along the termen. 
In the female the distinctions between Agrotis ypsilon and 
the present insect are much less evident, and hence in this sex 
the two species are very difficult to separate. 
The perfect insect appears in February, and was taken 
at sugar in open cultivated country. 
Deseribed and figured from a specimen kindly lent 
me by Mr.’ Philpott. 
AGROTIS. INNOMINATA. 
(Agrotis innominata, Huds., N.Z. Moths, 31; Agrotis admira- 
tionis, Meyr., (mec. Guenée) Trans. N.Z. Inst., xix. 33.) 
(Plate Vly ne2 0004) 
This rather distinetly-marked species has been taken 
on the sea-coast near Wanganui, Wellington and Dunedin. 
The expansion of the wings is 1% inches. The fore-wings 
are pale pinkish-brown, sometimes slightly tinged with green; 
there is a slender black longitudinal streak on the costa at! the 
base, @ broad black longitudinal streak at the base near the 
middle, and another a little beyond the base above the middle, 
containing the orbicular and reniform stigmata, these are sharply 
outlined in pale ochreous; there are several indistinct blackish 
marks between the veins, and a series of terminal black dots; 
the cilia are dull pinkish-brown. The hind-wings are dull white; 
there is a series of brownish terminal dots, and the veins are 
marked in brown; the cilia are shining white. The head and 
thorax are pinkish-brown; the latter has two transverse black 
lines near the head, and two longitudinal black streaks on each 
side. The abdomen is dull white, tipped with pale brown. 
The perfect insect appears from September till Decem- 
ber. It is not’ a common species. 
Genus 4.—GRAPHIPHORA, Ochs. 
Face without! prominence. Antennae in male ciliated. Thorax 
with anterior and posterior crests. Abdomen without crests. 
Anterior tibiae moderate, longer than first joint of tarsi. 
A large genus of universal distribution represented 
in New Zealand by one species. 
GRAPHIPHORA COMPTA. 
Graphiphora compta, Walk., Cat., x. 404; Taeniocampa 
immunis, ib. x. 480; quadrata, Walk., Cat., xi. 745; Cerastis 
innocua, ib. xv. 1710; reciprocd, ib. xxxii. 672; Noctua brevius- 
cula, ib. xxxiii. 716; communicata, ib. xxxiii. 716; Agrotis ace- 
tina, Feld. Reis. Nov., pl. cix. 6. Orthosia immunis, Meyr., Trans, 
IN-ZaeLnistasex< 0) 
(Plate VII., figs. 1 and 2 @ varieties.) . 
This bright-looking species has occurred in the North 
Island at Kaeo, Auckland, Ohakune and at Wellington. 
In the South Island it has been found at Blenheim, Christ- 
church, Tuatapere, and Invercargill. 
The expansion of the wings is 12 inches. The fore-wings 
vary from bright orange-brown to dull reddish-brown; there is 
an obscure black dot! near the base, a faint transverse line at 
about one-fourth; the orbicular is oval, faintly outlined in 
brown; the claviform is very faint, its position indicated by a 
small brown dot; the reniform is large, oblong, much indented 
towards the termen, doubly outlined with dull yellow and con- 
taining a blackish spot towards its lower edge, its posterior mar- 
gin is shaded with dark brown; there are several faint, wavy, 
transverse lines near the termen, and the termen itself is shaded 
with brownish-black; the cilia are reddish-brown. The hind- 
wings are dull grey; the cilia are pale reddish-ochreous tipped 
with white. The head is covered with scattered white scales, the 
