Art. XX.—On some New Species of Macro-lepidoptera. By G. V. Hudson, F.E.S. [Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 18th November, 1902] Plate XXX. Caeadrinina. Miselia iota, n. sp. Plate XXX., fig. 3. The expansion of the wings is a little over 1 in. The fore wings are dull brownish-ochreous finely speckled with black; there is a conspicuous hook-shaped black mark close to the base, a sharp black mark on the costa at about ¼, a clouded wavy line near the middle of the wing, darker on the costa, a sharp black mark on the costa just beyond this, followed by a wavy band of dark brownish-black, very much broader on the costa than on the dorsum, and bordered with a pale wavy line towards the termen. The hind wings are dark brownish-black. The cilia of the fore wings are brownish-ochreous, of the hind wings dark-grey. The head and thorax are brownish-ochreous, and the abdomen grey. There are two conspicuous black marks on the anterior portion of the thorax. This species is evidently closely allied to M. pessota, but is, however, abundantly distinct therefrom. The type specimen was taken at Karori in January, and the species has since been found at Invercargill by Mr. Philpott. Melanchra umbra, n. sp. Plate XXX., figs. 7, 8, and 9 (varieties). The expansion of the wings is about 1 ⅝ in. The fore wings of the male vary from pale-ochreous to dull reddish-ochreous. The central portion of the wing is more or less clouded with black, and there are often two black patches on the termen below the apex. The orbicular is oval, finely outlined in black; the reniform is large, black towards the base and pale towards the termen; the claviform is obscurely out-lined in black; the transverse lines are very faintly indicated, except on the costa. The sides of the thorax are black and the central crest pale-brown. The hind wings are dark

brownish-grey. The female differs in having the fore wings uniform pale-brown tinged with purplish, and the transverse lines are very numerous and distinct. This fine, though obscurely marked, species was discovered near Invercargill by Messrs. G. Howes and A. Philpott. A number of specimens have been secured, all of which show considerable variation. The perfect insect appears in November and December. Venusia princeps, n. sp. Plate XXX., fig. 1. The expansion of the wings is 1 ¼ in. The fore wings are bright-yellow, with orange-brown markings. There is a shading on the costa near the base; three small obscure spots at about ¼; a rather large spot on the costa at ½, followed by three much smaller spots; there is an irregular somewhat triangular marking at the apex. The hind wings are pale-yellow, with several obscure dots on the dorsum. The head is yellow; the thorax is also yellow, with an anterior band of reddish-brown; and the abdomen is pale-yellow. The antennæ are strongly bipectinated, white, dotted with pale-brown. This handsome species is described from a single specimen in the collection of the late Mr. R. W. Fereday, which is now deposited in the Christchurch Museum. The exact locality of its capture is unknown. Notoreas synclinalis, n. sp. Plate XXX., fig. 6. The expansion of the wings is 1⅛ in. The fore wings have the costa broadly bordered with dark greyish-black; below this there is a longitudinal black streak from the base to a little beyond the middle; next a broad dull - white stripe, followed by a very conspicuous curved black longitudinal stripe, extending from the base of the wing, running parallel to the dorsum towards the termen and curving upwards opposite the tornus towards the apex; on its lower side this stripe is broadly shaded with pale-grey. The lower central portions of the wing are dull yellowish-brown. The hind wings are dark blackish-grey, with an obscure central shading. The cilia of all the wings are dark-grey, obscurely barred with paler grey. This remarkable-looking species was discovered by Mr. A. Philpott at Seaward Moss, near Invercargill, on the 4th January, 1900. Dichromodes griseata, n. sp. Plate XXX., fig. 5. The expansion of the wings is about ¾ in. The fore wings are dark-grey, with paler-grey markings; there is a long stripe running parallel to the costa, and extending from the base

almost to the apex, and a broad, oblique, slightly waved band reaching from the apex to the dorsum at about ⅓. The hind wings are pale-grey. This little insect is possibly only a variety of D. gypsotis. It was found by Mr. A. Philpott at Seaward Downs in January, 1900. Selidosema monacha, n. sp. Plate XXX., fig. 4. The expansion of the wings is nearly 1 ½ in. The fore wings are shining-white, traversed by numerous jagged transverse lines which are all much broader near the costa. The hind wings are dull-white, obscurely banded with grey. The head and thorax are white, with black markings, and the abdomen is dull-grey. This very conspicuous insect is described from a single mutilated specimen in the collection of the late Mr. R. W. Fereday, which is now deposited in the Christchurch Museum. The locality of its capture cannot be stated. Declana glacialis, n. sp. Plate XXX., fig. 2. The expansion of the wings is about 1 ¼ in. The fore wings are very dark rich reddish-brown; there is a large, very irregular, deeply indented white mark in the middle of the wing extending from the base beyond ¾. This marking is almost bisected by a bright reddish-brown longitudinal streak. There is an obscure bluish-grey shading near the termen, and the veins and cilia are bright reddish-brown. The apex of the fore wings is rather prominent and the termen somewhat arched. The hind wings are bright-orange, with several large brown spots on the termen near the apex; the cilia are bright-Orange. The head and thorax are orange-brown. There is a conspicuous ochreous band on the prothorax, and the abdomen is dull-orange, speckled with black towards the tip. In January, 1889, Mr. C. W. Palmer took a single specimen of this fine insect between Gordon's Pyramid and Mount Arthur, at an elevation of about 4,000 ft., in the Nelson District. This specimen he kindly transferred to my collection, but as it was unique and in rather poor condition I did not feel justified in describing it. I was therefore very glad to again meet with the insect during December, 1899, in the neighbourhood of Mount Cook Hermitage, where I was fortunate enough to secure half a dozen very fine specimens. In this locality the moth was observed flying with great rapidity in the hottest sunshine. It was comparatively common at elevations of from 3,000 ft. to 4,000 ft., and frequented the upper portion of the old terminal moraine of the Mueller Glacier, as well as the lower spurs of the Sealey Range.