210 REVISION OF MAMESTRA — SMITH. 



ence indicated by the antenn{e to be in this case a sound one. These 

 antennjE are furnished with short pointed hiteral processes, which are 

 tipped with bristle tufts. 



Mamestra meditata Grt. 



1873. Grt., Buff. Bull., i, 104 ; Dianihacia. 

 1881. Grt., Cau. Eut., xiii, 130; Mamestra. 



Reddish fuscous, irrorate with bluish scales, powdery. Tran.sverse 

 lines indistinct, geminate, sometimes relieved by a pale included shade. 

 Basal line not traceable. T. a. line outwardly oblique, waved. T. p. 

 line more upright than outer margin, slightly dentate on veins. S. t. 

 line indicated by a slight difference between terminal and s. t. spaces. 

 Claviform obsolete. Ordinary spots moderate, concolorous, often 

 barely traceable, usually marked by paler scales. Secondaries dark, 

 smoky, fuscous, paler toward base. Beneath, with a reddish shade, 

 powdery, a broad exterior dusky line. Head and thorax concolorous, 

 tuftings not prominent. The male antenuse serrate, the serrations 

 bristled. 



Expands 27 to 3.5™™ (1.08 to 1.40 inches). 



Habitat. — Canada to Virginia, west to the Mississippi. 



Eleven specimens are in the Museum series, others in the duplicate 

 material. The localities are, ISTew York (C. V. R., J. B. S.) ; IS^ortheru 

 Illinois (C. V. R.) ; Holderness, New Uamp:^hire, September (C. V. R.); 

 Washington, District of Columbia, August 8 to September 14 (C. V. R.). 



Tliis is a common and obscurely marked insect, related to histraUs, 

 with a somewhat similar wing form ; but much more obscurely marked. 



The genitalia of the S consists of the long harpes constructed near 

 the middle and dilated toward tip, where it is inwardly fringed with 

 spinules. Behind the middle arise two stout corneous hooks, slightly 

 curved, the oue projecting upwards, the other downwards. 



Mamestra lustralis Grt. 



1875. Grt., Can. Ent., vii, 223; Dianthvecia. 

 1881. Grt., Can. Eut., xiil, 127; Mamestra. 



Lilac gray, mediau space more reddish. Median lines obsoletely 

 geminate, usually one of the lines only distinct ; t. a. line preceded, t. p. 

 followed by a narow pale shade. Basal line present, fragmentary. T. 

 a. line outwardly oblique and curved between the veins. T. p. line 

 lunulate, nearly parallel with the outer margin, a prominent tooth on 

 vein 1 . The s. t. line is usually distinct, pale, it^ course sinuate, always 

 marked near hind angle with a carneous or yellowish blotch. Some- 

 times the terminal space is strongly irrorate with bluish-gray scales 

 and the line becomes more or less completely lost. Claviform rarely 

 complete, usually only the sui)erior portion outlined and having the 

 appearance of a spur from the t. a. line. Ordinary spots usually paler, 

 narrowly outlined with black, usually with a traceable pale interior 



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