1 84 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



as I believe, a Notodontid, or a Noctuid. We may take also into con- 

 sideration a certain similarity of the abdomen in Limacodes and Ichthyura , 

 among the superficial resemblances which induce the bringing in of the 

 Notodontince here ; but the position chiefly recommends itself to me in 

 that we obtain a better sequence for the ensuing groups. 



In the JVotodontince, the neuration of the secondaries approaches the 

 Noctuidce. in that vein five of the hind wings is (when present) situated 

 midway between four and six from the cross-vein. The form varies, but 

 most of the genera have long wings, and the abdomen exceeds the second- 

 aries. The costal vein of hind wings does not spring from the sub-costal 

 or upper margin of the cell, but is free from the base. The head and 

 thorax are usually thickly haired, the latter being sometimes peculiarly 

 tufted at the sides. The male antennae are usually pectinate, the female 

 simple. The caterpillars are often naked, that of Notodonta stragula 

 almost sphingiform. That of Apatelodes is hairy, and Abbot's figures 

 induced the generic name. They have fourteen or sixteen feet, and some- 

 times the anal claspers are wanting ( Cerura), and the body is terminated 

 by two thin prolongations. It is this form of the larva which prepares us 

 for the Platypterygincc, in which the anal projection is single. This sub- 

 family is known to English entomologists under the name of " Pebble 

 Moths," in allusion to the ornamentation, which consists often of shaded 

 spots or blotches. In repose, the wings are folded close to the body. In 

 this position Datana looks like a broken twig, the shaded thorax, with its 

 raised tufts at the sides, like the top of the twig at the break. Datana is 

 related to the European Phalera bucephala; the same mimicry is dis- 

 played, but here the colors are paler, and the deception even more apparent. 



The American genera are remarkable for their odd forms, and in some 

 cases for the number of species. Among the most unusual is Apatelodes, 

 closely related to the South American Parathyris. The fore wings are 

 broad, curiously outlined, with sharp tips ; and the soft gray color, the 

 tufted abdomen, present a resemblance to the Sphingid genus Cressonia, 

 so that I have called the species of Apatelodes : False Hawk Moths. The 

 larvae of several rarer Notodontids have been described by Prof. French, to 

 whom we are much indebted for life-histories of our North American moths. 



Sub-family Platypterygina. 

 The moths of this family are frail, geometriform, with falcate or sub- 

 falcate primaries, with short maxillae and palpi, and pectinate male antennae, 



