"Face with appressed or shortly projecting scales. Tongue developed. Antennæ in male bipectinated, towards apex simple. Palpi rough-scaled. Thorax sometimes crested posteriorly, hairy beneath. Femora nearly glabrous; posterior tibiæ in male dilated. Fore-wings in male with fovea; vein 10 sometimes connected with 9, 11 sometimes out of 10 near base only, or if separate, sometimes anastomosing with 12."—(Meyrick.) (Plate [II]., figs. 59 and 60, neuration of Selidosema dejectaria.)
This genus is universally distributed and of considerable extent. We have nine species in New Zealand.
SELIDOSEMA FENERATA, Feld.
(Rhyparia fenerata, Feld. cxxxi. 7. Zylobara fenerata, Butl., Cist. Ent. ii. 498. Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xvi. 97.)
(Plate [VIII]., fig. 50 ♂, 51 ♀.)
This species is common, and generally distributed throughout the country.
The expansion of the wings is about 1½ inches. The fore-wings of the male are very pale ochreous-brown; there is a double jagged transverse line near the base, a single jagged line a little before the middle, and a double one a little beyond the middle; an almost continuous jagged line near the termen. The hind-wings are very pale ochreous, almost white; their outline is peculiar; the dorsum is very short, the termen very long, first oblique and then rounded with a small projection midway between the apex and the tornus. The female has the fore-wings pale grey, and the hind-wings dull white; the markings resemble those of the male, but the outline of the hind-wing is of the usual form.
This insect varies slightly in the depth of its colouring. It may be distinguished from the allied species by the peculiar outline of the hind-wings in the male, and by the pale grey colouring of the female.
The perfect insect appears from October till March and is very common. It has a great liking for the faded fronds of tree-ferns, from which specimens may often be dislodged. Both sexes are very abundant at various blossoms during the evening, and are also attracted by light. The female is sometimes observed in the winter months, and probably hibernates.
SELIDOSEMA RUDIATA, Walk.