March, 1914-] FORBES : NOCTUID.^ OF NORTH AMERICA. 21 



Pectinations about as long as segments, ending in a long bristle, 



detracta. 

 Male antennae serrate on the sides, and laminate, the laminations very 

 deep in the species with obscure serration. 

 Thorax with high, divided crests, 



discalis, nimbosa, purpurissata, etc. 

 Thorax with low, mostly diffuse crests. 



Wings narrow, hind angle strongly retracted, pale gray, 



distincta. 

 Fore wing half as wide as long, tending to be tufted at anal 



angle, fuscous brown meditata. 



Male antennas simple, ciliate, the laminations making the segments less 

 than twice as wide as long. 

 Thorax with broad spatulate vestiture with rather strong tufting ; 

 abdomen with several tufts. 

 Anterior tuft usually high, divided. 



Subterminal with a strong W-mark, anal angle strongly 

 retracted, wing three sevenths as wide as long ; dull 



gray or brown confusa, 



subjuncta, grandis, atlantica, radix, cana^nsis. 

 Subterminal without a W-mark (typical Mamestra), 



latex, lubens, adjuncta, etc. 

 Anterior tuft of thorax low and generally diffuse, 



assimilis, goodelli, legitima, rugosa, anguina, pensilis, 



erecta, renigera, olivficea, lorea, laudabihs, etc. 



Thorax clothed mostly with soft hair, with some flattened hair 



intermixed, appearing woolly ; sometimes with slight ridge 



on collar and anterior crest ; abdomen with a massive 



basal tuft only. 



Apex rectangular, vestiture of disc of thorax fine (Sider- 



idis) rosea, congermana, rubefacta. 



Apex acute and outer edge oblique, disc of thorax with con- 

 trasting spatulate vestiture (Ceramica) picta. 



All the genera in this group are very close. Morrisonia and Xylo- 

 miges may be separated by slight venational characters, Barathra 

 by the fore tibia, Nephelodes differs from the hairy Mamestrse and 

 even more from the Tseniocampids by the strong abdominal tufting; 

 Tricholita by the broadly pectinate antennae in the male and pectinate 

 antennae in the female. Leucania and Tccniocampa by the extreme 

 weakness of the abdominal tuft ; picta, in which this tuft is the 

 weakest, being distinguished by its broad spatulate hair on the disc. 

 Between Sideridis and Cirphis even this character is evanescent. 

 Crocigrapha differs from all our narrow-winged Mamestrae in the 



