AZELINA GALLARIA, Walk.
(Selenia gallaria, Walk. 185, Butl., Cat., pl. iii. 6, 7. Euchlaena (?) palthidata, Feld. cxxxii. 21, 22. Stratocleis gallaria, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xvi. 105; Azelina gallaria, xx. 62.)
(Plate [X]., figs. 13 to 20 ♂ varieties, 21 to 23 ♀ ditto.)
This species is very common in the neighbourhood of Wellington. It has also occurred at Palmerston North, Makotuku, Christchurch, Dunedin and Stewart Island.
The expansion of the wings is 1¼ inches. The fore-wings of the male vary from pale yellowish-brown to bright orange-brown, or reddish-brown; there is a wavy transverse line near the base, often obsolete except on the costa; another wavy transverse line beyond the middle, also frequently obsolete except on the costa; followed by a very conspicuous straight line, often double, running obliquely from a little before the apex to the dorsum; outside this line, near the tornus, there are, in most specimens, two black spots or one large rust-red spot; the termen has two projections near the apex, inside which there is usually a darker blotch. The hind-wings are as variable in colour as the fore-wings; there is one wavy line near the base, followed by an almost straight line, which is a continuation of the straight line of the fore-wing; beyond this line the ground colour is generally much darker; the termen itself has no projections. The female has broader wings and a shorter body than the male; the ground colour and markings are similar to those of the male, but are usually more sombre, and the termen of both fore- and hind-wings is furnished with a number of prominent projections. The under side of the wings in both sexes is beautifully marbled with yellow and reddish-brown, and several of the markings of the upper surface are faintly indicated.
This species, as will be seen from the foregoing, is so extremely variable that a more detailed description would be useless, especially as the straight, oblique, transverse lines of both fore- and hind-wings will at once distinguish it from the two other members of the genus.
The perfect insect appears from November till March. It frequents dense forest, and is most abundant at the flowers of the white rata in the evening. Earlier in the year, before the rata blooms, it may sometimes be taken at sugar.
AZELINA OPHIOPA, Meyr.
(Gonophylla ophiopa, Meyr., Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. 1897, 387.)
(Plate [X]., fig. 26 ♂, 27 ♂ variety, 28 ♀.)