Page:Transactions NZ Institute Volume 15.djvu/58

Not uncommon at light in Christchurch during March; Mr. R. W. Fereday has also taken it commonly at Mount Hutt in January.

The species does not bear the slightest affinity or resemblance to Aphomia, which differs widely in venation, belonging as it does to another family, and further has entirely different, very short, ascending palpi in the male, a character of which Butler, though describing a male, was evidently unaware.

Male.—22–24 mm. Head reddish-ochreous, mixed with grey on face; anterior margin of eyes, lower part of face, and a small spot on crown whitish. Maxillary palpi whitish, towards base externally reddish-ochreous. Labial palpi rather long, reddish-ochreous, internally whitish, beneath white at base. Antennæ dark fuscous. Thorax light grey, somewhat mixed with whitish, with a spot on each shoulder and centre of back reddish-ochreous. Abdomen grey-whitish, suffused with light ochreous. Anterior and middle legs dark grey, apex of middle tibiæ and of first joint of tarsi whitish; posterior legs whitish, tarsal joints suffused with dark grey except towards apex. Forewings moderate, posteriorly dilated, costa slightly arched, somewhat sinuate before middle, apex rounded, hindmargin rather oblique, strongly rounded; whitish, becoming clearer white towards costa, and grey towards inner margin posteriorly; a short dark brownish-grey mark on inner margin at base; an oblique irregularly oval dark brownish-grey blotch in disc towards base, its anterior extremity connected with base by a short streak, its posterior extremity almost touching inner margin at ⅓; a slender dark brownish-grey transverse fascia from middle of costa to middle of inner margin, becoming much thicker on lower half, suffused on costa, upper half irregularly dentate above middle, sending a sharp tooth inwards in middle; a second slender dark brownish-grey transverse fascia from costa at ¾ to inner margin at ⅘, strongly and abruptly dilated on lower third, upper two-thirds twice curved inwards, sending a sharp tooth outwards between the curves, anterior edge below middle emitting two or three slender lines along veins to centre of disc; this fascia is margined posteriorly by a suffused white fascia, beyond which is a brownish-grey hind-marginal band irrorated with whitish; a straight slender bright ferruginous streak along submedian vein from base to second fascia, indistinct towards base; a more conspicuous straight slender bright ferruginous streak from base to anal angle; both these streaks intersect all the dark markings they meet; lower half of hindmargin tinged with ferruginous: cilia grey, with a white basal line on upper half of hindmargin. Hindwings grey-whitish, with a faint cloudy grey line a little before hindmargin, and a grey hind-marginal line; cilia whitish, with a faint grey line near base.