The origin of the species, except the ten introduced by man, is ob- 

 scured in antiquity but certainly the points of origin are several. 

 The majority of the species appear to have their affinities with con- 

 tinental American elements but, because of the rather meager knowl- 

 edge of the mainland forms, it is impossible to estimate the extent to 

 which this occurs. The enormous development of the Crambidae in 

 the islands has no comparable evolution on the mainland. Apparently 

 the antecedent or antecedents of the Crambidae arrived at an early 

 geologic time and found an unusually favorable environment per- 

 mitting extensive radiation. Without doubt, further exploration 

 will reveal even a greater number of species in this family. 



The Crambidae are contained in three genera, Crambus, Femando- 

 crambus and Juania. Although the three genera are easily separated 

 on superficial characters, the various genitalic types are found in each 



