the LarvcBof the NoctiKE. 23 



VARIEGATiE. 



Plusiid.e. — Larva with 12 or 16 legs, lialf-loopers. 



Abrostola. — Larva with 16 legs, 1st pair of clasperg 



rudimentary. 

 Plusia. — Larva with 12 legs, other two pairs com- 

 pletely ahsent. 

 GoNOPTERiDvE. — Larva with 16 legs. 

 INTRUST.— See previous hst. 

 LIMBAT^.— See previous Hst. 

 SERPENTINA. 



OpHiusiDiE (Genus Ophiodes). — Larva with 16 legs, the 



two 1st pairs of claspers somewhat 

 shorter than the others. 



EucLiDiiD.E (Genus Euclidia). — Larva with 12 legs. 



PoAPHiLiDiE. — {Phytometra JEnea, larva a semi-looper). 



On this evidence alone — supposing for the moment that 

 larval characters were adopted as the hasis of our classifica- 

 tion — we should be justified in regarding these latter groups 

 of the Noctuae as most closely allied to the Geometras, and 

 this conclusion is fully borne out by the perfect insects, since 

 it is among these groups that we find the most Geometriform 

 Noctuae, such as Brephos, Euclidia, and Phytometra} More 

 than forty years ago Professor Westwood insisted upon the 

 perfectly natural transition from the Noctuae to the Geometrae, 

 " so beautifully effected by Catocala, Plusia, and other half- 

 loopers, as their larvae are termed, and Ophiusa, Erastria, &c." 

 (' Introduction to the Classification of Insects,' vol. ii., 

 p. 363.) 



In order to avoid lengthy repetitions, I will in future 

 speak of the groups Bombyciformes and GeimincE as " Bomby- 

 ciform Noctuae," and of the Minores, Variegata, Intrusd, Lim- 

 hatcB, and SerpentincB as " Geometriform Noctuae." It is 

 obvious that the relationship of the latter to the Geometry 

 is accurately expressed by the arrangement in Stainton's 

 ' Manual,' whilst that adopted by Doubleday in the 



1 The American genus Drasteria, allied to Euclidia, and the American 

 family Focillidce are also very geometriform in their imaginal characters. 



