THE CANADIA-N ENTOMOLOGIST. 45 



IN REPLY TO CRITICISM. 



BY HARRISON G. DYAR, PH. D., NEW YORK. 



Mr. J. W. Tutt's article (Trans. Ent. Soc, Lond, 1895, pp. 343-362), 

 reviewed by Mr. Grote (Can. Ent., XXVII., p. 326), in which he correlates 

 the recent attempts at a classification of the Lepidoptera, is both instruct- 

 ive and stimulating. Mr. Tutt is to be thanked for his useful and 

 impartial criticism. As far as my own work on the larvae is concerned, 

 the following points are brought out : — 



(i) The position of the Pyromorphidfe, Megalopygidee and Eucleid^e 

 was not found entirely from larval characters, and I am criticised for this. 

 I accept the criticism ; but at the time I had no material to prove their 

 position entirely on larval characters. At present I have. Dr. Chapman, 

 with his usual generosity, sent me several species of Anthroceridai in stage 

 I. (A/ithroce7-a lonicerce, Adscita siaiices, A. geryon and A. globularice), 

 and all show the position of the stage to be such as I assumed for the 

 position I assigned the families to. The Anthroceridse have a primitive first 

 stage : tubercles i. and ii. approximate, iii. normal, iv. and v. approximate, 

 vi. (and the other thoracic subprimaries) absent, vii. on the leg base. The 

 Pyromorphidse have not been examined, but must go with the Anthrocer- 

 idse (Mr. Tutt's Zygaenidpe). The Megalopygidae and Eucleidse (=Lima- 

 codidffi) have no primitive first stage ; but I have gotten at the arrange- 

 ment of their tubercles in another manner. I have shown that the group 

 of smooth Eucleid larvae have their spinose warts greatly reduced by 

 degeneration. This has proceeded so far that the setfe have reverted to 

 the primitive condition. Not in the first stage, however, for here another 

 peculiar process of extreme reduction has set in, whereby setse i. and ii. 

 have coalesced at base, forming a Y-shaped process, and in other species 

 one arm of the Y has shortened, leaving apparently a single knobbed seta. 

 But, after stage I. and before the larva is old enough so that the set* are 

 too small to be well examined, the characteristic high Micro, type of setai 

 is very evident, in our Apoda yinversa and presumably also in the 

 closely allied European A. avellana ( Limacodes testtcdo). The 

 details of the thoracic setaa confirm these conclusions nicely. The 

 Megalopygidae I assume to go with the Eucleid;«. I have no direct proof 

 for them, as the primitive first stage is wanting, and I have yet to see any 

 degenerate forms. 



(2) My failure to divide the Tineina, due to lack of material, is 

 noticed. I have been able partially to remedy this lack (see Journ. N. 



