natural, history

15. MACROHETEROCERA OF RENNELL ISLANDBYD. S. FLETCHER, F.R.E.S.DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY, BRITISH MUSEUM (NAT. HIST.)The material on which this paper is based is solely that collected by Mr. and Mrs.J. D. BRADLEY for the British Museum during a six weeks visit to Rennell Island inOctober and November and a two days visit to Bellona Island in N0v~mber 1953.The collection from the two islands consists of 388 specimens representing 87 species,18 of which were found to be new to science and all but three of these, which areplaced only to genera because of insufficient or imperfect material, are aescribed inthe following pages together with ten new races of known species.The collection made by the Danish expedition to Rennell Island in 1951 is verydisappointing, due to poor weather conditions and an unfortunate accident to thecollecting equipment; of the families included in this paper, there are only four moths,in too poor condition for identification, and a number of larvae, which, without associatedadults, must for the present remain unnamed.For the purpose of this paper, the term 'Macroheterocera' comprises those familiesincluded in volumes 10, 11 and 12 of SEITZ, Macrolepidoplera of the World.The collection from Rennell Island consists of 351 specimens representing 83 species.That from Bellona Island consists of 37 specimens representing 12 species, eightof which were also collected on Rennell: a further three are recorded from other islandsin the Solomons and may occur also on Rennell and one, Euchromia shortlandicaniphosticha Fletcher, is a distinct race of a species so far recorded from Shortland,Bougainville and GuadaIcanal Islands.As will be seen from the accompanying distribution table, the greater part of thespecies occurring on Rennell and Bellona Islands appear to have reached there eitherfrom the west, via the Louisiade Archipelago, or from the north-west via the BismarckArchipelago and other islands of the Solomons group, for 55 of the 87 speciesare either identical with or races of species with principally a westerly distribution; afurther II are either identical with or races of species that are so far known only fromthe Solomons. Only eight species, or 9 ~o of the total, have a distribution which extendsprincipally or solely eastwards from the Solomon Islands. There are thirteen specieswhich are so far known only from Rennell Island.The colour names used in the descriptions are taken from RIDGWAY, 'ColorStandards & Color Nomenclature'.31