1893-] ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. 223 



trasting colors: white, sometimes silvery, often yellow, and some- 

 times red. As a rule, the tibke are spinose, and very often the 

 anterior are shortened and heavily armed at tip, the genus Schinia 

 being particularly distinguished in this direction. Anarta and 

 its allies are related to some of the Heliothids, the Plusiids, and 

 to Annaphila, through which we lead into the Acontiids. The 

 latter are mostly small species, usually brightly colored, with 

 close scaly vestiture, and closely scaled, unarmed legs. The 

 eyes are naked, and the front is rarely modified. Following this 

 series we reach another of a very decidedly different type the 

 Catocalinse of Mr. Grote. The colors are sombre in most in- 

 stances, at least so far as the primaries are concerned, and the 

 secondaries are frequently maculate. A peculiarity of a large 

 proportion of these species is that the transverse posterior line on 

 the primaries makes an abrupt inward bend below the reniform, 

 leaving a prominent, square, often white or pale patch above it. 

 In Syneda, and its near allies, the secondaries are yellow or yel- 

 lowish, or red, leading into Catocala, in which they are yellow, 

 red, or black, and usually banded. In the latter genus the larvae 

 are semi-looped. In this series and the forms immediately fol- 

 lowing, we have usually or rather close, scaly vestiture, particu- 

 larly on the abdomen, which is usually smooth and cylindro-conic. 

 The palpi are smooth, upright, and usually reach at least to the 

 vertex, while the wings are large, leading to the Erebid series, 

 in which both pairs of wings are similarly marked by transverse 

 lines. At the end of the family we find the Deltoid series, so 

 called from the fact that many of them, when at rest, have the 

 form of the Greek letter delta. They are usually easy of recog- 

 nition by the unusually long palpi, which are sometimes curved, 

 sickle-shaped over the head, sometimes projected straight for- 

 ward, snout-like, clothed with upright scales. In this series we 

 find some of the most interesting secondary sexual characters 

 that are known in the order. 



o 



ON THE GENERA OF THE FAMILY CYNIPID/E. 



By H. F. BASSETT. 



It is to be regretted that the work of genus-making in this 

 family had not been deferred until the dimorphism of most of the 

 species had become known, and the relationship of the two forms 

 had in each case been ascertained. 



