322 ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY 



called. He remarked that in the Thynnidae the males are larger 

 than the females, an exception to the rule obtaining among most 

 insects. Other examples of insects in which the male sex is the 

 larger were mentioned by other members present. 

 Dr. Dyar presented the following paper : 



A REVIEW OF THE NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES OF THE 

 LEPIDOPTEROUS FAMILY ANTHROCERID^E. 



By HARRISON G. DYAR. 



This group of moths has been usually known as Zygaeriida?, but 

 erroneously so, as shown by Kirby. Fabricius founded the genus 

 Zygcena in 1775, with 28 species included, belonging to several 

 genera and families as now known, and with no indication of type. 

 The first species \sfilipendulce, and if this be taken as the type, 

 the usual acceptance of the term Zygasnidae is justified, and this 

 becomes the name of the moths under discussion. But by the 

 method of elimination we reach a different result. Scopoli, in 

 1777, founded the genus Axthrocera, specifying as typejilipci2- 

 dulce, the first of the Fabrician species of Zygcena. Retzius, in 

 1783, proposed the genus Adscita. I have not seen the work, 

 but the genus is said to have included only filipendulce and 

 statices. As the species are not congeneric, and filipendulce was 

 already the type of Anthrocera, statices may be considered that 

 >t Adscita. Schrank, in 1801, treated the genus Zygcena, divid 

 ing it into three sections. I am indebted to Prof. Fernald for ex 

 amining Schrank's work for me. He tells me that section A 

 contained phegcea only, section B ten species, among them fiili- 

 pendulce, and section C two species, globularice Schrank (not 

 Hiibner) = statices Linn, and pruni Den. & SchirT. These sec-' 

 tions were not named, but if names were to be applied to them, 

 B should be called Anthrocera, as it contains filipendulce, and 

 C Adscita, as it contains statices. This constitutes a virtual re 

 striction of Zygcena to section A, which contains only phegcea. 

 Thus phegcea becomes the type of Zygcena Fab. (restr. Schrank). 

 It is the second species included by him in the 28 original species. 

 The above is essentially Kirby's argument. Unfortunately it 

 overturns our accustomed use of the family names, since phegcea 

 is a Syntomid allied to the Arctians, and thus Zygcena. is to be 

 used for a high Bombycid type instead of the well known Tineid 

 group with which we are accustomed to associate the name. 



The earliest plural name for the group is Hiibner's Zyga2nse 

 (1806) , with filipendulce as type, but, as shown above, this name 

 cannot be used. Hiibner also proposed Chrysaores (statices} and 

 Glaucopes (phegcea}, but, as Chrysaor becomes a synonym of 

 Adscita and Glaucopis (preoccupied in birds) of Zygcena Fab. 



