THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 67 



NOTES ON EUPOEYA AND THE MEGALOPYGID.ii:. 



BY HARRISON G. DYAR, NEW YORK. 



I have had occasion to refer three times in these pages to the genus 

 Eupoeya, placing it, with some doubt, in the Megalopygidi«. Very re- 

 cently I have been so fortunate as to discover the larva in Elorida on the 

 mangrove. It is a true Eucleid, contrary to my expectation, but in con- 

 firmation of Dr. Packard's original statements. This genus, then, re- 

 moved from the Megalopygidfe, renders it possible to define the family 

 by the branching of vein r of primaries, instead of by the pectinations of 

 the antennse to the tip, which proves to be a fallacious character. 



Megalopygidx. 



If the family be defined on this character, it appears unfortunate that 

 Aurivillius does not refer to it, nor show that part of the v/^ing in the 

 figures in his recent paper on the group. Aurivillius would place the 

 African genera Somabrachys and Psycharium in the Megalopygidae, which 

 is interesting, if well founded, as extending the geographical distribution 

 of the family to the Old World. (Iris, Dresden, VII., 189, 1894.) 



In Can. Ent., XXVII. , 244 (1895), I referred eight genera to this 

 family. Eupoeya may now be omitted, but Alhnera bicolor, Moschl., may 

 probably be added. Recently Grote doubted (Can. Ent., XXVII., 136) 

 the correctness of Berg's union of Lagoa with Megalopyge. Moschler 

 had previously expressed the same opinion (Abh. Senek. Naturf Gesell., 

 XVI., 122) and stated that Jiuda, the type of Megalopyge, differs in an- 

 tenna! characters. " Die Fiihler von ?iuda sind kurz, kaum halb so lang 

 wie die Vorderfliigel, beim ^ an der Spitze ausserst kurz gekaimmt, 

 vvahrend diesclben bei crispats langer als der halbe Vorderfliigel, starker 

 und bis am Ende gekammt sind." 



If we accept these characters as diagnostic of the two genera, our 

 species separate as follows : 



Genus Megalopyge : contains nuda (type), lanata and opercular is. 



Genus Lagoa : contains crispata (type) and pyxidifera. 



The larval characters confirm us in dividing our species into two 

 genera, since the larva of opercularis has the hair crested and curled and 

 is furnished with a terminal tail-like tuft, while -those oi crispata and 

 pyxidifera are evenly and smoothly haired. 



Grote states that Lagoa is preoccupied, but I do not find this to be 

 the case in Scudder's Nomenclator. Pimela, Clem, is preoccupied by 

 Pimelia, Fab. (Coleop.) 



