A EEVISION OF THE DET.TOID MOTHS SMITH. 67 



shorter, less trigonate, broader toward base, the outer raar<?iu much 

 less ()bli(iiie, and the apices scarcely rectangular and not in the least 

 ])()inte(l. 



lh./rat(')')it(lis varies from i)ale luteous in the male to light-red brown 

 in the female. The appearance of the mah^ is very suggestive of a 

 small R. salusalis (brevirostralu); but the palpi show the difference at 

 a glance, being straight and long without sexual modification. The 

 female differs nuirkedly froiu the male in color, this sexual difference 

 recurring in this genus only in R. s<(h(s<(Ii.s, and the maculation, which 

 in the male is (piite <listinct, is almost lost in the female, in whi(;h the 

 subteniiinal line alone remains marked. 



R. sobrialis {res-frict<ili.s) is smoky o\er luteous, varying to blackish, 

 with the maculation obscure, and A', larrali.s ••esembles it exce[)t in 

 size, being souiewhat larger and in ha\'ing a somewhat paler, more 

 purplisli tinge to the primaries. According to Mr. Grote, '' It will be 

 easy to distinguish R. restrictalis from R. larralis, with which it agrees 

 in ornamentation and general tint, if we observe the greatly shorter 

 and recurved labial palpi of the female. In R. larvaUs the female 

 labial palpi are extended forward, and are as long as in R. hrevirostra- 

 lis. The antennus is shorter from the base to the tuft in R. restrictaUs 

 than in 7i*. lari'aJis; the form is narrower, the general color darker, more 

 glossy." Both the anteuual and palpal characters pointed out are 

 unreliable, and while they hold in perhaps a considerable proportion of 

 cases, yet I have seen instances in which they were exactly reversed, 

 and the examination of the large series of specimens of all species 

 now before me shows that there is a sufticiently great range of varia- 

 tion, especially in the palpi, to render their use for specific characters 

 at least unsate. 



R. clitosalis {centralis) is another smoky, rather more blackish spe- 

 cies, but the wing form already mentioned separates it from those imme- 

 diately preceding. The i>alpi are more evenly clothed than usual in 

 the genus and are more or less sickle shaped in both sexes. The spe- 

 cies strongly resembles TetanoUta mynesalis on a much larger scale, 

 and is quite different from any other of its congeners. 



R. factlosalis [plenllineaUs) agrees with R. vlitosulln in wing form, 

 but differs in all other characters. It is leather brown in coloi-, vary- 

 ing to a deeper shade, with more or less black powdering. The macu- 

 lation is variably distinct, and sometimes the spaces contrast more or 

 less, varying to an almost uniform leather brown with the maculation 

 obscured, as in the form named R. alutalis by Mr. Grote. 



The remaining species are those already separated off on the even, 

 pale, transverse posterior line of the primaries, and they are closely 

 related. 



R.JinnpnnctdJh is a well marked S))ecies, and the maculation is in 

 most cases distinct, the transverse ])osterior line i)romineut and con- 

 tinued somewhat more faintly across the secondaries. 



