THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 123 



moil with the typical group of the Noctuidce, where we see it in Agrotis, 

 and a number of separated genera of smaller extent. This spinosity of 

 the tibiae is not frequent in the Bo/iibyciJce, or in the Geomctridce ; it is 

 not so far apparent in the lowest group of the Owlet Moths, the Del- 

 toidince. In the Catocali/ue, however, the body tends to become untufted 

 and concolorous, the abdomen tapers to the tip, and the resemblance to 

 the Geomctridce is further heightened by the looping larvae. 



Either from actual structural characters, or from the peculiar _/(?;7«, 

 or as a matter finally of pure convenience for the student, I have divided 

 the Noctuidse into five sub-families : the Thyatirincej the Nod u idee, the 

 Catocalmce, the Deltoidince, the Brephince. All these grounds for sub- 

 division are recognized by modern systematists. The divisional terms 

 help, as I have elsewhere said, to light up the group to enable us to com- 

 pare the representation of the family in different quarters of the globe, 

 and to arrive at conclusions relative to distribution and origin. For, on 

 common sense grounds, I object to a classification absolutely technical 

 and rigid; so rigid as to take no note of the plasticity of the forms, and 

 so ignorant of the process by which a spine or a tuft is formed, as to be 

 unable to determine categorically what characters are most difficult, or 

 take more time to be produced in nature. The value of characters for 

 systematic purposes may, therefore, stand in opposition to their biological 

 value. A reasonable entomologist will therefore take note of all the facts 

 presented, and will make his categories correspond, so far as possible, 

 with the total qualities of the creatures he proposes to classify. The bare 

 record of structure, and the erection of an artificial nomenclature is the 

 smallest part of a naturalist's work. The thinking mind will discover 

 the bearing of facts upon each other, and educe therefrom the action of 

 natural law. 



I . — Sub-family Tliyatlrince. 



With the exception of Pseudothyatira and Leptina the generic repre- 

 sentation of this group, which differs by the position of vein seven of the 

 secondaries, is the same in Europe and North America. The former we 

 may regard as a modifiication of Habrosyne, while the latter seems more 

 removed from the different European generic groups allied to Bombycia 

 ( Cy mat ophor a oi kx\'Ci\ox'=> wow Hiibn). North America has one ; Europe 

 another, and Japan a third species of Habrosy/ie, so closely allied that 

 they may be considered as geographical or representative species. These 



