302 



Agrotis haruspica Grote. 



The fore tibiae are spinose. This species is published by Dr. 

 Speyer as A. augur var. grandis, in an extremely valuable paper in 

 Avhich the relationship between allied forms of Noctuidae in North 

 America and Europe are discussed. All such closely allied forms 

 must have descended from some common progenitor, and I have 

 suggested that the separation may have occurred in later Tertiary 

 times, and is the effect of the change in temperature during the 

 Glacial Period. The effect of a gradual increase in cold would have 

 been to drive the members of the Artogaeal fauna southward and 

 separate geographically the European and American species. There 

 appear, as previously noticed by Dr. Le Conte in the Coleoptera, to 

 be various grades of relationship between species now existing in 

 Europe and America. "While some are absolutely identical, others 

 may be distinguished by various grades of distinctional character, 

 grades that could only have been brought about by gradual changes, 

 and yet Avhich, in the Noctuidae, as Dr. Speyer interestingly shows, 

 have some common direction of variation in color that is apparently 

 the result of climatic conditions. The specific name quite evidently 

 loses some of its hitherto accepted force as applied to these forms. 

 Nevertheless, where we can constantly separate the forms, different 

 names should be employed for the sake of exactness of definition. 

 The present name Avas published January 20th, 1875, and was pro- 

 posed to replace that of unimacula, given to the species by Mr. Mor- 

 rison, a name previously used by Dr. Staudinger for an Andalusian 

 sjoecies. 



Agrotis exsertistigma Morrison. 



I have previously considered this specific name to apply to 

 alternata Grote. At that time I was guided by Mr. Morrison's 

 brief comparative description and my California material of cupid- 

 issima Grote. I have now returned to me my specimen by Mr. 

 Morrison, and I find it to be distinct from either alternata or 

 cupida, with neither of which should it have been compared by its 

 describer, for the abdomen is not flattened, but conical. It must 

 therefore be referred to a different subsection of the genus. I 



