Order L e p id o p t k k a .
The Lepidoptera of New Zealand: by Arthur Gardiner
Butler, F.L.S, F.Z.S., &c.
About a year ago Dr. W. L. Buller urged upon me the
desirability of making a list of New Zealand Lepidoptera;
but I was at that time unable to undertake it, being busily
engaged with my “ Lepidoptera Exotica ” and with various
papers on Myriopoda and Araclinoidea: recently however
Dr. J. E. Gray very kindly intrusted me with the preparation
of the Lepidopterous portion of the “ Erebus aud
Terror.” I thought, therefore, I might as well make a
complete list, aud thus supply the want which Dr. Buller,
Mr. Eereday, and others have so long deplored.
Notwithstanding what Mr. Eereday says about the
numbers of Moths in New Zealand, I cannot hut agree
with Mr. Bathgate that it is unusually poor in Lepidoptera,
not “ as compared to a tropical country,” but as compared
to Europe; still it is evident that Captain Hutton has (as
regards the Diurnal Lepidoptera at any rate) underrated
its productive powers; he says iu his paper on “ the
Geographical relations of the New Zealand Fauna”—
“ Of the Lepidoptera I know hardly anything, and prefer
waiting until Mr. Fereday has published his promised
descriptions of the species, before examining their bearing
on the present subject. But one fact stands out prominently,
viz., that out of more than three hundred species,
only eight belong to the butterfly section.” Trans. N. Zeal.
Inst. V., p. 247 (1873), and Ann. & Mag. Nat. Hist. Febr.
(1874). Now if we turn to Mr. Fereday’s paper (Trans.
N. Zeal. Inst. IV., pp. 216, 217) we find the following
passage—“ Although I have had but little time or opportunity
I have collected, of butterflies at least * eight, and of
moths quite 300 different species,” aud he goes on to
enumerate no less than eleven apparently distinct species
with which he is familiar; if Samadryas zoilus be really
a New Zealand insect, the number of butterflies will then
be twelve instead of eight; and all these Capt. Hutton
should have admitted into Iris statement. Mr. Fereday
has, I believe, noticed quite recently the occurrence of
Daiiais Berenice in New Zealand; the species will, of
course, be D. Arehippits, now common in Australia and the
South Seas.
Most of the New Zealand Lepidoptera, as one might
have expected, seem to be grass-feeders; some of them
indeed of enormous size {Charagia, Leto, Borina'); they
are as a rule of duU colours, although Chrysophanus
Boldenarum the most beautiful, though one of the smallest
species of the genus, is a notable exception to the general
ru le ; Pyrameis Gonerilla may almost vie with our
European P. Atalanta ; the beautiful silvery-streaked
Argyrophenga is also only surpassed by the Argyrophorus
argenteus of Chili; and one or two of the smaller moths
are very pretty indeed.
In the following list I have followed Bates’s arrangement
for the Ehopaloeera and Walker’s for the Heterocera—
Section E iiopalogera, Boisduval.
Family I. N ymphalida!, Westwood.
Gen. Diurn. Lepid., p. 1 4 3 ( 1 8 5 2 ) ; Bates, Journ. Entom.,
p. 1 7 6 (1 8 6 4 ).
Sub-Family 1. D anaina;, Bates.
Joum., Entom. p. 2 2 0 (1 8 6 1 ), p. 1 7 6 (1864).
Genus H amadeyas, Boisduval.
Voy. de VAstrolabe, Ent. p. 91 (1832).
1. H amadkyas Zoilus.
Papilio D. F. Zoilus, Eai., Syst. Ent, p. 4 8 0 , n. 163
( 1 7 7 5 ) ; Sp. Ins., p. 53, n. 2 2 9 ( 1 7 8 1 ) ; Mant Ins., p. 25,
n. 2 6 5 ( 1 7 8 7 ) ; E n t Syst HI., p. 4 2 , n. 1 2 8 ( 1 7 9 3 ) ; Gen.
Diurn. Lepid., pl. XVIIl*.,/. 1 (1 8 4 7 ).
Barnard Isle, Australia (Macgillivray). B.M.
Said to occur iu New Zealand; see DieffenhacEs N. Zeal.
II. App., p. 2 8 4 ), an Australian example in the collection of
the British Museum hears a label with the following note,
“ In thick and gloomy brushes.”
The Nymphalis Nais of Guerin is slightly different from
the typical form.
Sub-Family 2. S a t y e i n a , Bates.
Journ. Entom. 11., p. 176 (1864).
Genus 2. A rgyrophenga, Doubleday.
Ann. & Mag. N a t Hist XVI., p. 3 0 7 (1 8 4 5 ).
2. A rgyrophenga antipodum. Tab. 8, fs. 4—7.
Argyrophenga antipodum. Doubleday, Ann. & Mag. Nat.
H ist XVI., p. 3 0 7 ( 1 8 4 5 ) ; Gen. Diurn. Lepid, pl. 6 3 , / . 6
(1851).
New Zealand {P. Eo.rV). Type. B.M.
The introduction of ocelli on the undersurface of the
secondaries in fig. 6 is probably an error, we apparently
have the specimens from which all the figures were taken
in the coUectiou; and an example, answering in all other
respects to figs. 4 and 6, shows no trace of these ocelli.
This species is, according to Mr. Fereday (Trans. New
Zeal. In,St. IV., p. 2 1 7 ) rather common in some river beds,
particularly the Waimakariri.
Before passing on to the next sub-family I may
mention an ? Erehia named by Mr. Fereday as E. pluto but
merely described as “ black.” I should much like to see
the species and decide its natural position.
Sub-family 3. N ym ph a l in a , Bates.
Journ. Entom. II., p. 176 (1 8 6 4 ).
Genus 3. P yrameis, Hulmer,
Verz. belt Schmett, p. 33 (1816).
2, P yrameis G onerilla. Tab. 8, figs. 1 0 ,1 1 .
Papilio N. G. Gonerilla, Fab., Syst Ent., p. 4 9 8 , n..
’ The italics are our own.
237 (1775); Sp. Ins., p. 82, n. 361 (1781); E n t Syst III.,
p. 103, n. 317 (1793); Donovan, Ins. New Holland, pl. 25,
Vanessa Gonerilla, White, in Taylors New Zealand and
Usinhdbitants,pl.‘i, f . I (1855).
Papilio GeneriUa (sic). Fab., Mant Ins., p. 44, n. 437
(1787)
Eangitauharuini, New Zealand (Colenso).^ B.M.
The type of this beautiful species is in the Banksian
cabinet in the British Museum; it is common, and the
earliest butterfly at Otago (A. Bathgate).
4. P yrameis I tea.
Papilio N. G. Itea, Fab., Syst Ent, p. 498, n. 238
(1775); Sp. Ins., p. 82, n. 362 (1781); Mant Ins., p. 45,
n. 438 (1787); E n t Syst, p. 103, n. 318 (1793); Donovan,
Ins. New Holland, pl. 28, f. 1 (1805); Vanessa Itea, White,
in Taylor's New Zealand and its inhabitants, pl. 2, fs. 2, 2
(1855).
New Zealand (Sinclair). B.M.
The type is in the Banksian collection.
5. P yrameis Card ui, (var. P.
Pyrameis Cardui, Linn,, Fawn. Suec., p. 276, n. 1054
(1761).
Cynthia Cardui, White, in Taylor’s New Zealand and its
inhabitants, pl. 2, f. 5 (1855).
Cyntliia Kershawii, M’Coy, Ann. & Mag. Nat. H ist I V ,
toI 1,^. 76 (1868).
New Zealand, Auckland (Bolton). B.M.
P. Kershawii only differs from the typical P. Cardui in
its dark coloration on both surfaces and in the size of the
blue pupils in the ocelli of secondaries, but these are variable
characters and not sufficient to distinguish the two
forms ; indeed our examples are separated by locality only,
there being examples of P. Kershawii in the collection
precisely like typical P. Cardui and vice versa; it is, however,
interesting to keep this variety separate in a large
collection, as one of the links in the perfect series of forms
connecting P. Cardui and P. Atalanta : Mr. Fereday supposes
P. itea to be intermediate between P. gonerilla and
P. cardui; if so, a great many links must have fallen o u t;
none of these species have the least claim to he referred to
the genus Vanessa, the form of the secondaries alone is
sufficient to suggest their distinctness from that group.
Family 2. L y o a n id a , Stephens.
III. Brit. E n t Haust I., p. 74 (1827).
Sub-Family 4. Ly o a n in a , Butler.
Oat. Fabric. Diurn. Lepid., p. 158 (1869).
Genus 4, Chrysophanus, HUbner.
Verz. helc. Schmett, p. 72 (1816).
6. C hrysophanus Sa lu stiu s . Tab. 8,fs. 1—3,
Resporia E, Salustius, Fah., Ent. Syst. III., p. 310,
n. 175 (1793); Lyciena Edna, Douhleday, Dieff. N. Zeal
App., p. 283 (1843); Polyommatus Edna, Westwood c&
Hewitson, Gen. Diurn. Lepid., pl. '18,f. 6 (1852); White in
Taylor’s New Zealand and, its inhabitants, pl. 2, fs. 3, 4
(1855).
New Zealand (Sinclair). B.M.
7, C hry sophan us E br eday i.
Chrysophanus Feredayi, Bates, Ent. Mo. Mag. IV , p. 53
(1867).
Kaiapoi Bush, Canterbury (Fereday)—Bates.
Differs from G. Salustius in having the secondaries
below clouded with brown ; the difference in the colour of
the palpi, mentioned by Mr. Bates, occurs also in some
examples of G. Salustius; I doubt the distinctness of this
species, I have not however seen it.
8. C hrysophanus B oldenarum. Tab. 8,fs. 8, 9.
Lycaena Boldenarum White, Proc. Ent. Soc. Ser. 3, I.,
p . 26 (1 8 6 2 ).
This species having been but imperfectly described, I
subjoin characters—
J Wings above brown, shot with glistening purple ; a
curved disoal series of six orange spots bordered internally
with black on each wing; also a second ill-defined sub-
marginal series, not reaching the apices; outer margin
broadly dark brovra; primaries with a black spot towards
end of discoidal cell and a second at end of cell, between
and beyond these three or four ill-defined orange spots;
secondaries with a black spot at end of cell, bordered
internally with iU-defined orange ; beyond it are also three
or four ill-defined orange spots ; body above blackish, crest
grey ; palpi and undersurface snow white ;
Wings below altogether pa le r; primaries pale tawny;
the margins grey; two spots within cell, one at the end
and a curved discal series, black, indistinctly edged with
white; a submargiual iU-defined series of greyish ocelli;
secondaries pale golden brown, a broad baud across the
centre of the wings, two subbasal discoidal spots and a
submargiual series sBver grey, white-edged: expanse of
wings, 10 lines.
? Wings above without the purple shot, excepting a
snbmarginal macular line, between the discal and ante-
marginal series of orange spots; remaining orange spots
larger, more elongated and distinct, otherwise as in the
male ; body as in the male :
Wings below rather darker than in the male, otherwise
the same : expanse of wings, 1 inch, 1 line.
New Zealand (Colenso). B.M.
The figures represent the male, but the bauds and spots
on the uudersurface of secondaries have been made alto-
getlier too dark.
Mr. Fereday thinks there may be two other species of
this genus, Trans. New Zeal. Inst. IV., p. 2 1 7 (1 8 7 2 ).
1