
2. Notes on the Nomenclature of the New Zealand Geometridae; with Description of a New Species.
[Read before the Otago Institute, 6th June, 1911.]
The following extracts from the letters of Mr. L. B. Prout are of considerable interest to students of Lepidoptera in New Zealand, as several disputed points are settled here:—
Xanthorhoe cinerearia Dbld.
The large form is rightly semisignata Walk, and is a true Xanthorhoe (discocellular veins of the hindwing simple). Its antennae have about 28 segments pectinated.
Synonyms: Xanthorhoe semisignata Walk. = semilisata Walk. = corcularia Guen. = dissociata Walk. = punctilineata Walk.
The small form is cinerearia Dbld., but is a Larentia (discocellulars triangulate), and has about 22 segments pectinated.
Synonyms: Larentia cineararia Dbld. = diffusaria Walk. = infusata Walk. = invexata Walk. = inoperata Walk. = infantaria Guen. = adonata Feld.
Larentia farinata Warr.
L. farinata is of a more unicolorous slaty grey (not brownish-grey) than cineararia, and is larger and more weakly marked. About 21 segments of the antennae are pectinated. Its proximal areole is minute, but this may vary.
An excellent description, from Wellington specimens, is given in “Novitates Zoologicae,” vol. 3, p. 388.

Xanthorhoe lucidata Walk.
The insect identified by Hudson as X. lucidata is not the typical lucidata of Walker. The true lucidata is smaller in size, lines less straight, colours more varied, &c. Hudson's species agrees exactly with veinapuncta Walk. The whitish dots on the veins are quite characteristic of the species.
Lythria euclidiata Guen.
The large form without any red on the underside is L. euclidiata Gn.; the smaller, which answers to Hudson's description and figure, is catapyrrha Butl. This latter should be known as Arcteothes catapyrrha until it can be proved that the two strikingly different forms are conspecific.
Dichromodes petrina Meyr.
Petrina sinks to an older name—sphaeriata Feld.—which was unknown to (or unidentified by) Meyrick, through Felder having assigned it not only to the wrong genus, but to the wrong subfamily, and given rather a poor figure of it.
Epirranthis alectoraria Walk.
Sufficiently distinct from the true Epirranthis to form a new genus under the name Xynonia (Prout); and included in alectoraria are apparently two species—Xynonia alectoraria, the long-winged species with the margins irregular; Xynonia ustaria (Prout), the stumpierwinged with strong angle (almost a tooth) in middle of outer margin of forewing and with strong dentate margin of hindwing.
Epirranthis hemipteraria Gn.
This should be Xyridacma hemipteraria: the singular form of the hindwing renders it convenient to keep it separate from Xynonia.
Drepanodes muriferata Walk.
Drepanodes is a South American genus, and, as your New Zealand muriferata is probably structurally distinct therefrom, it seems premature to merge them, so advise keeping to the generic name Gargaphania Walk. expressly founded for muriferata.
Leptomeris rubraria Dbld.
This should be Acidalia rubraria. The genus has been known by quite a number of synonyms (Leptomeris, Craspedia, Emmitis, &c.), but Acidalia is the oldest name for it.
Selidosema.
Selidosema Hubner is a European genus, and probably does not occur in New Zealand. Meyrick (Trans. N.Z. Inst., vol. 17, p. 65) made a genus Gelonia for S. panagrata and S. dejectaria. This had better stand provisionally.
It would be well to use Pseudocoremia Butl. for suavis, lupinata, rudisata (“rudiata” is an orthographical alteration of Hudson's), melinata, ochrea, and allies—apparently a quite compact group.
Sestra humeraria and Sestra flexata Walk.
Hudson has unfortunately transposed these two. It is really Butler's fault, at least in part, and shows the mischief of premature lumping-Hudson

had to separate the two again, and, of course, could not consult Walker's types.
The species figured by Hudson (pl. ix, fig. 37) as flexata is really S. humeraria = obtusaria = obtruncata = punctilinearia. The true flexata is figured by him on pl. x, figs. 1 and 2, as humeraria.
Larentia exoriens Prout nov. sp.
♂. 26–35 mm. Face pale ochreous, strongly tinged with red. Palpus the same, reddest on the outer side. Pectinations rather long. Legs pale ochreous, spotted with fuscous, more or less red on upper side. Vertex and front of thorax sometimes tinged with red. Abdomen with paired dark dorsal dots, which are seldom distinct. Wings shaped as in aegrota Butl., pale ochreous; basal and median areas of forewing—and especially costa as far as subcostal vein—sometimes flushed with rosy rufous. Forewing sometimes with an indistinct curved rufous line near base; other lines rufous-grey, arranged nearly as in aegrota; subbasal pair oblique (almost parallel with termen), sometimes curved, sometimes rather sinuous, scarcely ever strongly bent basewards near costa as in aegrota; median series of four rather variable, the first usually crossing the black cell-spot, the third weak sometimes lost in a greyish suffusion, the fourth dentate usually projecting rather more before and behind the radials than is normal in aegrota; a pale band distally to the line, usually bisected by a very feeble grey line; subterminal area usually more or less shaded with grey, at least to the extent of some spots before a pale vague lunulate subterminal line; termen marked with paired black dots; fringe slightly dark-marked, generally more feebly than in aegrota. Hindwing with or without black cell-spot, no other distinct markings, faint traces of those on the underside; termen and fringe as in forewing. Underside pale ocherous, in fresh specimens usually strongly flushed with rufous, especially costal terminal areas of forewing and whole of hindwing; basal area, especially of forewing, more greyish, both wings with dark post-median line usually pretty well defined, sometimes dark-shaded proximally, usually pale-margined distally; in well-marked individuals with a distinct pale subterminal line; hindwings also sometimes with one or two dark lines in basal area; cell-spots present; termen as above.
Type (G. Howes, 15th March, 1910) in coll. L. B. Prout.
Glenorchy (March, 1910)—G. B. Longstaff; G. Howes. Nevis (24th March, 1911), Kinloch (20th March, 1911)—G. Howes.
By the kindness of Dr. Longstaff and Mr. Howes I am enabled to describe this species from nine males, including two or three in excellent condition and others little inferior. When worn or faded it is exceedingly similar to L. aegrota, but, apart from the points indicated above, it may be known by the absence of strong fuscous clouding on the underside, and by two structural characters: the antennal pectinations are appreciably longer (one-sixth or one-seventh as long again), and the posterior part of the cell of hindwing is considerably less produced, vein 5 arising near the cell-spot.
Note.—I use the name Larentia Frietschke for Xanthorhoe. Section 2 of Turner (Proc. Roy. Soc. Victoria, xvi, new series, p. 274): “hindwings with vein 5 from below centre of discocellular, which is angled.”
Here belong of New Zealand species—L. semifissata Walk., chlamydota Meyr., beata Butl., semisignata Walk., farinata Warr., and doubtless a few that I cannot at the present moment compare.
