New and Little-Known Lymantriidae from the Belgian Congo (Lepidoptera Heterocera)

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From the introduction:

"By courtesy of Mr. P. Basilewsky and Mr. L. A. Berger, I have received for determination the whole of the unidentified Lynmntriidac from the collection of the Musée Royal du Congo Belge, Tervuren.

The collection is of great interest, the commoner species represented by a useful series showing the extent of variation. A relatively large number of undescribed species, usually with only one or two specimens, give rise to the presumption that many endemic new species remain to be collected in the Belgian Congo. Specimens have been obtained from nearly every province, but I have seen no material, either in the present collection or previously, from the Kwango on the western side of the area.

It is perhaps too early to discuss the affinities of the Lymantriid fauna with that of surrounding countries, and in too many cases the supposed distribution still tends to indicate the localities in which extensive collecting has been done. However, species are predominantly linked with the west, rather than with Uganda, Kenya and Tanganyika to the east, the division being, in the case of some of the commoner species, the barrier formed by the mountains and lakes on the eastern boundary of the Congo. The division between the forested area in the northern part of the territory and the grassland which predominates in the southern is not clear from the distribution of species, but in very few cases, with a few notable exceptions, are particulars of this nature furnished by the collector.

The paper has been divided into: Descriptions of new species and notes on some others. A list of 120 known species not previously recorded from the Belgian Congo. Some synonyms among names of species previously described. No mention has been made of 73 species represented in the collection but already recorded from the Belgian Congo.

All specimens have been returned to the Musee Royal du Congo Belge, with the exception of duplicates which have been kindly presented to the British Museum (Natural History), and others, mentioned in the text, which have been included in the paper from the collection of the latter museum."

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