220 REVISION OF MAMESTRA SMITH. 



Mamestra atlantica Grt. 



1874. Grt. , Buff. Bull. , ii, 1-2 ; Mamestra. 



187.5. Grt., Check List, p. 7 ; Mamestra. 



1881. Grt.,Can.Ent.,xni.l28, ? =dissimilis. 



1889. Butler, Trans. Eut. Soc. Lond., 385 =(lissimilis. 



W-latinum, Gn. 

 1852. Gn.,Sp. Gen.Noct.,ii, 105; Eadena. 



1874. Grt.,Bnff. Bull.,11, 12; pr. syn. 

 dissimUis, var. discolor ; Speyer. 



1875. Speyer, Stett. Eut. Zeit., 36, 142; Mamestra. 



1881. Grt., Can. Eut., xiii, 128; pr. var. 



1882. Grt., New List ; pr. syu. 



Red or fuscous brown, terminal space darker, costal space paler, 

 often irrorate with whitish, Transs^erse lines more or less completely 

 obsolete, never entire; t. a. line, when traceable, marked with white 

 scales, lunate between the veins; t. p. line similarly marked, lunulate, 

 and parallel with outer margin; s. t. line distinct, pale or white, with 

 prominent white W on veins 3 and 4, preceded by a dusky shade and 

 black dashes. A row of distinct black'terminal lunules. A basal black 

 streak, almost attaining t. a. line. Claviform rather large, coucolorous, 

 outlined in black. Orbicular oval oblique, rather large, outlined in 

 black, then with a pale annulus; center coucolorous or strongly white 

 marked. Reniform rather large, annulate, and defined like the orbicu- 

 lar, coucolorous, inferiorly somewhat dark stained, the shade extend- 

 ing beyond the reniform to the t. p. line. A more or less definite pale 

 shade from apex through s. t. space. Vein 2 is often thoroughly pow- 

 dered with white through median space. Internal vein often white 

 marked throughout its course. Secondaries fuscous, smoky, paler 

 toward base. A distinct discal lunule. Beneath, reddish, powdery, 

 with distinct common line and discal spots. Head and thorax coucol- 

 orous with primaries; a distinct black transverse line on collar; 

 patagi;Te often marked with black. Thoracic tufts low, but distinct; 

 abdominal tufts small. 



Expands 30-35""" (1.20 to 1.40 inches). 



Habitat. — Canada, Atlantic States to Virginia, west to Wisconsin, 



Six specimens are in the Museum collection; localities as follows: 

 Wisconsin (Meske) ; Orono, Maine (J. B. S.); Schenectady, New York, 

 July 28 (C. V. R.); Albany, New York, August 28 (Meske); Adiron- 

 dack Mountains (U. S. N. M.). 



Mr. Grote never really described this species, but I have seen a num- 

 ber of specimens labelled by him, one of them now in the Museum 

 collection. Gueuee mentions a form of W-Iatinu7n as from America, 

 and Mr. Grote (Buff. Bull., ii, 12) simply gives the name atlantica in 

 his list, with W-lati7ium as a synonym. In the check list of 1875 there 

 are a few lines in note 6, which give none of the characters, and there 

 is nothing else even pretending to a description. 



Speyer, in comparing a series of American specimens with the Euro- 



