The pupa is enclosed in a light cocoon on the surface of the ground.
The perfect insect appears from November till April.
MELANCHRA DIATMETA, Meyr.[[15]]
(Plate [V]., fig. 5.)
This species has occurred at Wellington.
The expansion of the wings is 1⅜ inches. The fore-wings are reddish-brown; there is a short longitudinal black streak near the base, an obscure yellow transverse line at about one-fourth, and several short oblique brown or yellow marks on the costa; the orbicular is oval oblique outlined very distinctly in yellow; the reniform is white, margined with yellow towards the base of the wing; there is a black longitudinal streak at the base on the dorsum, which bends upwards at about one-fourth, and runs in a somewhat curved direction to a little above the tornus. The veins are faintly marked in black, and there are several large yellow dots between the veins near the termen; the termen itself is slightly indented, the cilia are reddish-brown. The hind-wings are greyish-brown with the cilia reddish. There are two very conspicuous curved yellowish stripes on each side of the thorax.
The perfect insect appears in September and October. It is a rare species.
MELANCHRA TARTAREA, Butl.
(Graphiphora tartarea, Butl., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1877, 384, pl. xlii. 2. Mamestra tartarea, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xix. 21.)
(Plate [V]., fig. 6.)