[Read before the Southland Branch of the Royal Society, November 24. 1938; received by the Editor, December 22, 1938; issued separately, September, 1939.]

During 1937–38 the Province of Southland enjoyed a very warm and dry summer, followed by a comparatively mild winter and warm spring. Undoubtedly the climatic conditions were beneficial to various forms of insect life, and from being sufficiently noteworthy to attract newspaper paragraphs last summer, the white butterfly (Pieris rapae) has now increased in numbers so as to become almost common with the advent of the 1938–39 summer.

Various species of the family of Elateridae are to be found everywhere in increasing numbers, and the lighting of fires at night to attract and destroy the night-flying Porina moths was advocated by the Provincial Executive of the Farmers' Union (Southland Times, 29/10/38). The larvae of the Diamond-back moth (Plutella maculipennis) took a heavy toll of the field crops and the vegetable gardens last summer, but have not made an appearance yet this year.

Dasypodia selenophora. Guenée.

My attention was first drawn to the occurrence of this moth by a paragraph which appeared in the Southland Times of 22nd October, 1938. This read: “An unusually big moth of striking colouring was brought into the Times office yesterday. It was found on the property of Mrs. Pont, Colac Bay. With a wing-spread of nearly two inches, the moth was of a rich dark brown colour, and on each wing was a distinct blue ring.”

On 25th October I received three specimens—one from Ryal Bush, one from Otatara, and one from Invercargill. On the 26th another was reported to me from Kew. On the 28th two more, and on the 29th I found one in my own room in South Invercargill at 10 p.m. Other specimens were forwarded to the Southland Museum, and the table below gives the date, locality and number:—

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Thus it will be seen that over a period of between three and four weeks the moth has appeared in many parts of Southland, and I was told by a workman from the Milford Sound District that the moth was fairly common in that locality.

In the Southland Museum collections are six specimens of D. selenophora, but no record exists to say where they were obtained, by whom, or on what date. Four of the six mentioned are in the Pascoe collection and may have been obtained locally many years ago but must remain doubtful owing to lack of data.