no. 1G45. REVISION OF CERTAIN NOCTUIDJE— SMITH. 213 



Dr. William Barnes was as usual ready with his material which 

 aided materially in completing certain scries, and Mr. Otto Buch- 

 holz was good enough to let me have a remarkable series of examples 

 taken by him in Yavapai County, Arizona. 



In addition, I have had quite a number of smaller collections from 

 other collectors and correspondents, all of which aided in fixing the 

 range of variation and distribution of the species, and to all of these 

 correspondents I owe thanks for their courtesy. 



Not the least valuable little lot of specimens was received from the 

 Rev. Dr. C. J. S. Bethune, who was the pioneer American worker in 

 this genus and whose paper in the Canadian Journal was a real help 

 to me. 



Finally, I owe thanks to Dr. H. G. Dyar for courtesies extended to 

 me in Washington, where I compared my determinations of some of 

 the southern intruders into our fauna, with the material in the Schaus 

 collection. 



One of the interesting features that developed in the study of these 

 species is the remarkable asymmetry in the sexual structures of both 

 males and females of some of the species and the strong characters 

 that were found in the females, which, in the Noctuids, generally lack 

 all structural peculiarities. 



In the males the asymmetry is between the harpes of the two sides, 

 which in extreme cases are totally dissimilar, with processes on one 

 side for which there is no counterpart on the other, and which are 

 rarely entirely alike. The sheath of the penis or intromittent organ 

 is always more or less curved or bent, or even hooked, and this 

 structure is directly correlated to the differences found in the female 4 . 



In all save a very few, the seventh abdominal segment of the 

 females is more or less modified both above and below. In the de- 

 scriptions the term anal segment or last segment is sometimes used 

 in referring to this structure; but what is meant is this apparent 

 seventh segment counting from the base, or the penultimate, counting 

 from the terminal points bearing the minute cerci. 



Seen from above, the abdomen of the female of most species seems 

 to narrow very abruptly, and at the sides of the base of this segment 

 there are distinct depressions or grooves, often a little discolored or 

 with little tufts of discolorous hair. On the under side this segment 

 is apparently lobed or divided, and when denuded it is found that 

 these lobes are chitinous. that they are usually dissimilar in size and 

 outline, and that somewhere along the right side there is a distinct 

 opening to the bursa copulatrix or copulating pouch. 



It might be explained here that in describing these structures those 

 of the males are figured and described as if seen in position from the 

 upper side, the head of the insect being nearest the eye. The females, 

 on the other hand, are described and figured as if the specimen were 



