OF WASHINGTON. 41 



Doctor Dyar presented the following papers : 



NOTES ON THE SPECIES OF ACROBASIS, WITH DE- 

 SCRIPTIONS OF NEW ONES. 



[Lepidoptera, Pyralidae, Phycitinse.] 

 By HARRISON G. DYAR. 



Mr. Charles R. Ely, of Washington, D. C, recently left 

 with me a box of pyralids collected by himself, among which 

 were some Phycitinae. These contained such a fine series of 

 Acrobasis (over half of the specimens being of this genus) 

 that I was induced to review the species listed in the genus. 

 The species of Acrobasis Zeller have a raised ridge of scales 

 near the base of the fore wings; the males have a small 

 projection on the basal joint of the antennas and, in some 

 species, various tracts of modified black scales on the under- 

 side of the wings. Doctor Hulst, in reviewing the genus 

 (Trans. Am. Ent. Soc., xvn, p. 123, 1890), casts doubt on the 

 specific value of these black markings, but for myself, I be- 

 lieve in them entirely, as they are not variable in the several 

 species. They are secondary sexual characters, of as much 

 importance as the projection on the antennse, which Doctor 

 Hulst uses for generic definition. While I think that these 

 characters ought not to be used as generic, there is certainly 

 no doubt of their specific value. I would base the separation 

 of the species primarily upon them, as in the following table. 

 In several instances species are indistinguishable as imagines, 

 but have dissimilar larval habits and food plants. These are 

 bracketed in the table. No attempt should be made to identify 

 species without male specimens, much less to found new spe- 

 cies on such material. Two species, cirroferella Hulst and 

 fructetella Hulst, are unknown to me and not identifiable from 

 the descriptions. 



TABLE OF THE NORTH AMERICAN SPECIES OF ACROBASIS ZELLER. 

 Fore wing of male beneath with a small black dash at base of costa. 

 Hind wing of male with black markings below. 



Hind wing with two black streaks, one subcostal, the other on 



median vein. 

 Subcostal black streak from base to beyond middle. 



angusella Grote. 

 Subcostal black patch oval, not reaching base. 



demotclla Grote. 



