140 Journal New York Entomological Society, t^o'- -"^-"^^v, 



eta is so far forward as to be nearly out of the question; in fact if 

 the position of the spiracular rudiment means anything, the subven- 

 tral region is practically undeveloped in the caterpillar meso- and 

 meta-thorax. 



Coming to the prothorax I can only say that I agree with Fracker 

 as to the ventral part, and again can see no proof of homologies in 

 the lateral and dorsal part. The muscles imply here as large an over- 

 development of the lateral region, as it was under-developed in the 

 rest of the thorax, but hardly prove it. The spiracle has risen again 

 to its abdominal level. 



It seems probable that these differentiations of seta-pattern on 

 thorax, prothorax, and abdomen, are much older than the seta-plan 

 of either one, itself. For instance in the Trichoptera the seta-plan 

 has not fully taken the Lepidopterous pattern, especially on the 

 thorax, but the three types of arrangement already exist. 



A few other points may be noted at this point in connection with 

 Fracker's paper. 



The bisetose prespiracular wart on prothorax in the Pyralidina, 

 combined with the typical micro-seta-pattern on the alxlomen and 

 prolegs, is diagnostic, and fills a serious need in the definition of the 

 group. I do not think the character has been noted before. 



Many of the Cosmopterygid-CEcophorid series are not leaf-feeders, 

 as stated by Fracker in his family table ; they may bore in seeds, 

 stems, and even thorns, several are scavengers, and one carnivorous. 

 This leaves the Cossidse uncomfortably close to the Gelechiid?e; of 

 course our species are much larger when full grown: iii of the ab- 

 domen is duplicated in Cossus, but the character may not be general. 



The uniordinal crochets of the Dioptidse are a surprise to me. 

 The trifid venation of the imago, and according to Packard the pupal 

 characters, associate this family with the Geometridae; they are 

 however also close to the Pericopidse and Hyssidse in the rest of their 

 venation, almost intergrading with the South American Pericopidas, 

 and may be more closely related to them than we have supposed. 

 The structures at the base of the abdomen ought to be investigated, 

 as they are characteristic, and of one type in the Pericopidse, Lyman- 

 triidcC, Arctiidae, some Noctuidae, etc., while in the Bombycid series 

 a wholly different structure appears, and in the Geometridae, as noted 

 by Prout, a third. The Thyatiridse seem to cling still to the 

 Geometridae. 



