The expansion of the wings is about 1⅝ inches. The fore-wings are pale orange-brown, the orbicular and claviform spots are faintly margined with reddish-brown; the reniform is dark brown and very conspicuous; there are two large reddish-brown markings on the termen. The hind-wings are dark grey tinged with red. The cilia of all the wings are reddish-brown.
This species varies slightly in the shape and extent of the markings on the termen of the fore-wings, which occasionally cause the pale ground colour to form tooth-like projections. It also varies a little in the intensity of the other markings, and in the depth of the ground colour.
The moth appears in January and February, and is attracted by light. I have taken it in some abundance on the Tableland of Mount Arthur, at an altitude of 3,500 feet above the sea-level.
MELANCHRA LIGNANA, Walk.
(Hadena lignana, Walk., Noct. 758. ? Xylophasia morosa, Butl., Cist. Ent. ii. 543. Mamestra lignana, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xix. 26.)
(Plate [V]., fig. 19 ♂.)
This pretty species is very common at Wellington in the North Island. In the South Island it has occurred at Mount Hutt.
The expansion of the wings is 1½ inches. The fore-wings are greyish-cream-colour, slightly paler on the costa. There are two very distinct blackish transverse marks on the costa near the base, and two others at about one-third; the stigmata are all sharply and finely outlined in black; the orbicular is oval, the claviform triangular, the reniform large and oblong, containing a smaller black-edged mark in its centre, and a blackish blotch towards its lower margin; beyond the reniform there is a faint jagged transverse line; there are two dark patches on the termen, the pale ground colour forming two sharp tooth-like markings slightly below the middle; the termen itself is slightly indented, and the cilia are dark brown. The hind-wings are dark grey with the cilia white.
Some specimens of this insect are slightly darker than others, but in other respects there are no important variations.
The perfect insect appears from October till April. It comes freely to sugar and to light, and is often taken at rest on trees and fences in the daytime.