10 GROTE — SEARCH FOR THE TYPE OF NOOTUA LINN. [Jan. 3, 



Opigena Boisd., 1840, monotypic for polygona. 



Chersotis Boisd., 1840, with 8 species. 



'^ Noctua Treits.," sagittifera and 18 other species. 



Spcelotis Boisd., 1840, for augur and 22 other species. 



'^ Agrotis Ochs. Tr.," agricola and 36 other species, including 

 exclamaiionis, designated by Duponchel in 1829 as the type of 

 Noctua, but erroneously so, since this is taken by Agrotis, 1S06, 

 being congeneric with segetum. It is also excluded by Durrant as 

 being unknown in the larval stage to Linne. 



Speyer, in the second edition of Dr. Schenckel's Schmetterlings- 

 sammler. 



Undated, Mainz, C. G. Kunze. Has a genus '* Tryphsena," as 

 used by Ochsenheimer and Boisduval, and employs Opigena for 

 polygona. In late editions, undated, of his popular book, '' Schmet- 

 terlingskunde," Speyer continues to use Tryphcena (Triphaena) in 

 Hiibner's sense, and includes pronuba in its second section. These 

 authors, therefore, regarded Triph(Ena as a distinct genus from 

 Agrotis. Since I have not found in the N. Am. Noctuid fauna the 

 precise structural equivalent of pronuba, it may not be necessary 

 for the American Catalogue to use either Trtphcsna or Noctua. 

 Agrotis gilvipennis Grote, referred by me in 1890 to Triphcena, 

 belongs, I believe, having no specimen at present, to Lampra. It 

 remains for the systematist to decide what species, other than pro- 

 nuba, can be taken as type of Triphcena. Duponchel's type, pro- 

 nuba, can remain, if my view that Noctua is untenable obtains. 



Lederer, Noctuiden Eiiropa^ s, Wien, 1857. 



Lederer has no genus Noctua, the species here regarded as typi- 

 cal being referred to one of the sections of Agrotis. Lederer 

 divides the numerous species of Agrotis primarily upon secondary 

 sexual characters, the male genitalia. Already, in 1874, I had pro- 

 posed to divide the species into two chief groups — those species 

 which had all the tibiae spinose and those in which the middle and 

 hind tibiae alone are armed (^BulL Buf. S. N. S..,\\). Subsequently, 

 in the Canadian Entomologist, I proposed a further addition, in- 

 cluding the genus Carneades. This classification of mine gives 

 "three principal divisions for the North American species : 



Front smooth, fore tibiae unarmed: Epllectra, Lampra Hiibn. 

 Front smooth, fore tibiae armed : Triphcena C, Agrotis Wxsl^xx. 

 Front tuberculate, fore tibiae armed : Carneades Grote. 



