16 PREFACE. 



States or by groups of States has been the only one feasible. A species 

 may occur in New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Vermont and 

 Maine, and only in one or two localities in each; yet the entire geo- 

 graphical group will be cited. I have endeavored, however, to specify 

 as much as possible in a work of this kind. By such expressions as 

 "Canada to Texas to Colorado," it is intended to indicate that between 

 these extremes the species has been recorded from most of the States. 

 The term "Canada,". as here used, includes the Provinces of Ontario 

 and Quebec, other British possessions being cited as published or 

 labeled. Finally, I have reason to believe that the "East Florida" of 

 the British Museum list may mean Texas or Georgia as often as what 

 is now known as Florida. 



The sources for the localities given are the original descriptions, lists 

 published by Lintuer, Thaxter, Snow, Van Duzee, Hill, Mrs. Fernald, 

 and others, in the entomological journals and elsewhere, a very com- 

 plete list of species taken in Colorado by Mr. Bruce, the collections at 

 Eutgers College, and in the National Museum, and the duplicate lists 

 of species named by me for correspondents for several years past. The 

 dates given are from the same sources, the National Museum collection 

 being especially well labeled in the Californian and Texan series. 



My studies in the noctuids have been almost exclusively systematic, 

 and the references made by me on the cards were such as would facili- 

 tate my work in that direction. I have included all references to de- 

 scriptions of early stages, habits, etc., found in the entomological and 

 scientific journals or publications, but have not searched economic lit- 

 erature. This latter has grown to such enormous proportions in recent 

 years that it merits a separate index, and there is so much repetition, 

 so much compilation, and so much duplication that to include the mat- 

 ter here would have extended the work unnecessarily. Mr. Henry Ed- 

 wards in his catalogue of the described early stages of Lepidoptera, 

 Bulletin No. 35 of the National Museum, has covered this ground fairly 

 well, and I have not recognized the necessity of duplicating all his 

 references. 



The only exceptions made are that I have cited Dr. Eiley's Missouri 

 reports, some of Dr. Liutner's reports, and the volumes of the Entomo- 

 logical Commission ; the first and second of these because they contain 

 descriptions of new species, and in the case of Dr. Eiley's reports, ex- 

 cellent and characteristic figures: the latter because the treatment is 

 scientific and monographic, containing exhaustive treatises on all pha.ses 

 of structure, habit, and development. 



Bulletin 35 of the U. S. National Museum should be, therefore, bound* 

 with the present work to complement and complete it. 



Our literature contains a large number of notes on species, giving no 

 new or useful information and of merely local interest. Eeferences to 

 these have been omitted. The object has been to give : (1) The place 

 of original description; (2) complete redescriptious; (3j additions to 



