700 AN INTRODUCTION TO ENTOMOLOGY 



palpi are short .usually but little developed . Themaxillge are present, but 

 they are often weak. The most important features in the venation 

 of the wings are the following; first, the union of veins AI2 and M3 

 of the fore wings with cubitus, making it apparently four-branched, 

 in a few lithosiids these branches of media are wanting; and second, 

 the coalescence of the subcosta and radius of the hind wings for a 

 considerable distance (Fig. 885). The extent of the union of these two 

 veins varies greatly in the different genera; it is for at least a fifth, 

 usually a half of the length of the discal cell, but not beyond the end 

 of the cell. 



The lai-\'ae of the tiger-moths, except that of Utetheisa, are clothed 

 with dense clusters of hairs. In fact a large proportion of our common 

 hairy caterpillars are members of this family. In some species, 

 certain of the clusters of hairs are much larger than the others, re- 

 sembling in this respect the clothing of the tussock-moths. Most 

 larvae of the arctiids feed upon herbaceous plants, and many species 

 seem to have but little choice of food-plant; but certain common 

 species feed upon leaves of forest -trees. 



The family Arctiidae is divided into three subfamilies, each of 

 which is regarded as a distinct family by some writers. These sub- 

 families can be separated as follows : 



A. Ocelli present, p. 700 Arctiin^ 



AA. Ocelli absent. 



B. Fore wings with raised scale-tufts, p. 705 Nolin^ 



BB. Fore-wings smoothly scaled, p. 704 Lithoshn.e 



Subfamily ARCTIIN^ 

 The Tiger-Moihs 

 The presence of ocelli distinguishes the members of this subfamily 

 from those of the other two. It is the largest of the three subfamilies, 



including about 125 North 

 American species. The follow- 

 ing are some of the more com- 

 mon representatives. 



The genus Haploa.' — Among 



^ _, , ^^^^ the more beautiful of the tiger- 



''^J^/'^^j^^Mkk ^ ' ^ji^^^HI ™oths is a genus the species of 



^^■^' ' ' which are snow-white or light 



yellow with the fore wings 



T?- oo/r -r *.7 ,■ banded with brown. In most 



Fig. 886. — Haploa contigiia. . , 1 1 • i 



Species the hmd wmgs are un- 

 spotted and are snow-white, but in some the hind wings are yellow. 

 These moths constitute the genus Hap- 

 loa. A species common iti the Atlantic 



States and represented by Figure 886 is ^ .^^^t^ 



Haploa contigua. The insects of this ^M^*B»^>w >i ^/"^^-f^JM* 

 genus vary greatly in their markings. %^&i%';^^?i^^^55**'^ 



The Bella-moth, Utetheisa bella. — ^^^^^^^^^^"^^ 



This is a whitish moth with lemon-yel- ^l^mM/ %^ 4<\i ^^W 



low or orange-colored fore v/ings, cross- ^^iJfe^ ^/ > M* 



ed by six transverse white bands, each Fig. 887. — Utetheisa bella. 



