LEPIDOPTERA 



707 



Fig. 900.— 

 pholus. 



■Lycomorplm 



each of these genera, Cteniicha virgmica, which is represented by 



Figure 898, and Scepsis Julvicollis, represented by Figure 899. The 



larvae of both of these species feed on grasses. 

 Closely allied to these is another species, 



which is common in the East, Lycomorpha 



phdlus. This is black with the basal half of 



the fore wings and the basal third of the hind 



wings ^'^ellow (Fig. 900). A variety of this 



species occurs in California and other parts 



of the West in which the lighter parts of the 



wings are pinkish instead of yellow. These moths occur in stony 



places, where the larvce feed on lichens growing on rocks. 



In the extreme southern part of this 

 country and in the regions south of that, 

 there occur highly specialized members 

 of this family, in which the hind wings are 

 greatly reduced in size, and the veins of 

 the hind wings coalesce to a remarkable 

 degree. In some of these forms the discal 

 portion of the wings bears but few if any 

 scales. Cosmosoma myrodora from Flori- 

 da (Fig. 901) will serve as an example of 



these. In this species the body and legs are bright red , with the head 



end of abdomen, and a dorsal band blue-black; the veins and borders, 



of the wings are also black. 



Fig. 901. 

 dora. 



-Cosmosoma myro- 



Family EUPTEROTID^ 



This family is represented in North America by a single genus, 

 Apatelodes, of which only three species occur in our fauna. These 

 moths bear a striking resemblance to the Notodontidse, but differ in 

 lacking maxillae. The moths usually have hyaline dots on the fore 

 wings near the apex. The venation of the wings is very similar 

 to that of the Notodontidse. Vein Cu of the hind wings is apparently 

 three-branched, and in our species the frenulum is normal. The egg 

 is flat, wafer-like, unlike that of the Notodontidag which is spherical 

 with the micropyle at the top. The larvae are cylindrical and are 

 covered with nimierous secondary setae, some short, others much 

 longer; there are no fleshy protuberances or verrucae present. The 

 mediodorsal setse are usually grouped into a distinct tuft on each 

 segment, sometimes forming long pencils. The pupa state is passed 

 in the ground. Our two best-known species are the following. 



Apatelodes torrefdcta. — The moth is soft velvety ashen. The fore 

 wings are falcate and are crossed by four wavy, brown lines; there is 

 a hyaline dot near the apex, margined externally with reddish brown; 

 there is a double reddish brown spot near the base of the inner margin. 

 The wings expand from 45 to 50 mm. 



The larva is a yellowish or whitish, long-haired caterpillar, about 

 50 mm, long. There are conspicuous pencils of dark hairs on the 



