






16 III —HABITS AND DISTRIBUTION OF N.Z. LEPIDOPTERA. 
The little insects belonging to the genus Simaethis fly with 
a peculiar mazy flight, and rest on flowers in brilliant 
sunshine. The cosmopolitan Choreutis bjerkandrell flies 
in bright sunshine, and loves to bask in the sun on leaves 
or stones. The species of the extensive genus Glyphipteryx 
are all freely on the wing in bright sunshine, the lustrous 
metallic markings of many of them requiring the most 
vivid illumination to fully reveal their glories. In Novem- 
ber and December the rather dull-coloured G. iochéaera 
may be seen swarming amongst rushes ‘“‘ flying from tuft 
to tuft and then pausing awhile to fan itself as though the 
heat of the summer’s day were almost insupportable.’’* This 
habit seems common to the members of the genus all the 
world over. The species of Batrachedra fly freely about 
sunset, and at this time the pure white B. psathyra may . 
often be seen in swarms winging its way through the long 
grass, and resting from time to time on a grass blade, 
waving first one and then the other of its graceful antennae. 
The lovely insects comprised in Gracilaria have somewhat 
similar habits, except that many of these fly in hot sun- 
shine earlier in the day. Both Batrachedra and Gracilaria 
rest standing on tiptoe, with the fore and intermediate 
legs outstretched, the head being much elevated and the 
apex of the wings resting on the ground. The object of 
this remarkable and characteristic attitude is not fully 
understood, but it certainly gives the little moth a most un- 
real appearance. The species belonging to the beautiful 
and most interesting genus Hrechthias and its allies rest on 
palings or tree trunks during the daytime. The probable 
object of the curious curled wing-tip, with its eye-like mark- 
ing, is referred to elsewhere. <A black species, Hrechthias 
externella is a sun-lover, and appears in early spring, fly- 
ing actively between 4 and 5 o’elock in the afternoon. The 
large and conspicuous Archyala terranea flies with a mazy 
flight, during the late afternoon, in October and November, 
when it is very conspicuous. On first alighting its antennae 
are kept in extremely rapid motion. The species belonging 
to the curious genus Lysiphragma rest on tree-trunks in 
dark forests, the raised tufts of scales on their wings 
causing them to resemble moss or irregularities on the bark. 
Most of the members of the genus Mallobathra are active 
sun-loving insects; their larvae construct most interesting 
portable cases. In the closely allied genera Scoriodyta and 
Taleporia the females are completely wingless, and sit on 
the outside of the case, awaiting the arrival of the males. 
The males of Mallobathra crataea fly wildly over bushes, in 
the sunshine, early in September and rejoice the heart 
of the collector after the long inaction of winter. 
The very large and conspicuous insects comprised in 
the family Hepialidae (Plates XLI—XLIII.) are all night- 
flying species, and may be seen travelling with amazing 
velocity just about dusk. When quite dark they are 
attracted by light, and often dash against the window panes 
of houses with such force as to somewhat startle the in- 

*Stainton. 
mates. From their extreme activity they are often called 
swifts, but it has been well said that, when seen at rest in 
the daytime, one of these insects appears a most sluggish 
creature and when touched will probably fall down as 
though dead, and no one would then conceive it was the 
swift of the previous evening. Jepialus virescens is closely 
related to several Australian forms, but the genus Porina 
occurs in Patagonia as well as in Australia. 
The brilliantly coloured little insects included in the 
family Micropterygidae (Plates XXXIX., and XLVI.) are 
all day-fliers, mostly inhabiting damp sunny glades in 
forests. They fly with considerable rapidity in the sun- 
shine, usually in partially shaded places, and in such varied 
lights are often extremely difficult to see. The insects 
comprised in the remarkable genus Sabatinca are probably 
the most primitive forms of Lepidoptera now existing, and 
on this account are of extreme interest. 
From the foregoing general remarks on the geographi- 
eal distribution of the New Zealand Lepidoptera, the 
reader will have gathered that the largest and most 
characteristic genera of our native moths are, Melanchra 
and its allies among the Noctuidae; Xanthorhoe, Notoreas, 
Dasyuris and Selidosema amongst the Geometridae; Cram- 
bus, Diptychophora and Scoparia amongst the Pyralidae, 
and Borkhausenia, Gymnobathra, Izatha and their allies 
amongst the Tineidae. It is a very remarkable fact that 
almost all these genera, which form such an important 
element in the New Zealand fauna, are not characteristic of 
Australia, but are traceable to South America, and the 
same applies to three of the Satyrids and the three Chry- 
sopham amongst the Butterflies. We are therefore forced 
to assume that these highly characteristic forms reached 
New Zealand by way of the Antarctic at a time when its 
climate was much less rigorous than at present, as all the 
known facts in connection with their present geographical 
distribution, show that they did not come either by way of 
the Pacific Islands, or Australia. Furthermore, it appears 
most probable that Scoparia originated in the Antarctic 
itself, and its larval habits and requirements fit it for such 
a locality. This assumption is rendered likely, not on ac- 
count of the very large number of species known in New 
Zealand, which now amount to one hundred and four, and 
additions are yearly being made by eollectors, but rather 
on the extremely diverse nature of the species themselves, 
such diversity being much greater amongst the New Zea- 
land forms, than amongst those found in Europe. The 
allied genus Diptychophora appears to have had an Indo- 
Malayan origin, whilst the remainder of the genera speci- 
ally mentioned, seem to have originated in the Northern 
Hemisphere. The whole of the New Zealand species of 
Crambus (ineluding Orocrambus) are probably the deseen- 
dants of one immigrant species only, and the same holds 
good in respect of all the New Zealand species of Borkhau- 
senia, With regard to the genera, which are assumed to 
have originated in the temperate regions of the Northern 
