The type specimen of this species was unfortunately lost in the wreck of the barque 'Assaye' in 1890. I have copied the above from Sir Walter Buller's original paper, and it may be well to point out that his description proceeds from the termen to the base, being the _reverse_ order to that followed by me in all the other descriptions in this work.
The so-called "vegetable caterpillar" (infested with the _Sphæria_ fungus [_Cordiceps robertsii_]) is, I think, very probably the larva of this insect. It was formerly supposed to be the larva of _Hepialus virescens_; but I have pointed out elsewhere[68] that this is certainly erroneous, the larva of _H. virescens_ living in the stems of trees, and never going beneath the ground, even to pupate, whilst the "vegetable" larva is subterranean. The real point to be discovered is the precise species of _Lepidoptera_ this caterpillar would develop into, if not attacked by the fungus; but at present no definite information has been obtained on the subject.
(_Porina enysii_, Butl., Proc. Zool. Soc. Lond., 1877, 381, pi. xlii. 7. _Porina enysii_, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xxii. 207.)
This species appears to be confined to the North Island, where it is rather rare.
The expansion of the wings of the male is 2½ inches, of the female 3½ inches. The fore-wings are dark orange-brown, more or less marbled with yellow and dark brown; there is a very variable number of small dull white spots margined with black and arranged irregularly on the wing. _The hind-wings are pinkish-brown, tinged with ochreous on the termen._
This species varies a good deal in the extent of the darker markings, and number and position of the dull white spots. When alive it is usually very strongly tinged with pink.
The perfect insect appears in December and January, and frequents forests. It is especially fond of resting on the stems of tree-ferns in the daytime, where, however, it is extremely inconspicuous, and can only be discovered by very careful searching. It is also very partial to light, and specimens might perhaps be secured more plentifully, if a good attracting lamp were exhibited in a suitable locality.
(_Hepialus characterifer_, Walk., Suppl. 594. _Oxycanus impletus_, ib. 598. _Porina characterifera_, Meyr., Trans. N. Z. Inst. xxii. 208.)