603. 

 ELECTRA ALBOCRENATA. 



The Durham Carpet. 



Order Lepidoptera. Fam. Phalaenidae. 



Type of the Genus, Geometra ruptata Hub. 



Electra Curt. — Zerene Curt. — Electra, Harpalyce, Polyphasia, 

 Steganolophia and Lampropteryx S^e. — Cidaria Och., Goda, 

 AntenncB inserted close to the eyes on the crown of the head, 

 ahke in both sexes, rather short slender and setaceous, com- 

 posed of numerous short joints, clothed with small scales above, 

 densely pilose beneath (1). 



Maxilla not so long as the antennae, very spiral and tentacu- 

 lated at the apex (3). 



Labial Palpi porrected beyond the head nearly horizontally, 



clothed with short scales and appearing truncated obliquely (4) ; 



triarticulate, basal joint curved and narrowed at the base, 2nd 



nearly twice as long and linear, 3rd very short and ovate (4 a) . 



Head subglobose: eyes globose. Thorax ovate. Abdomen slender, 



more or less tufted in the males, conical at the apex in the females. 



Wings forming a triangle in repose; superior elongate-trigonate, 



inferior rather narrow, subovate. Tibiae, anterior short, the others 



spurred at the apex, the hinder having a pair above the apex (8 f) .• 



tarsi long and b -jointed. 



Larvae loopers, smooth and like a stick, with 6 pectoral, 2 abdominal 



and 2 anal feet. 



Albocrenata Curt. Guide, Gen. 929. 



Silky, greyish- white: palpi, head and anterior portion of thorax 

 brown, back of abdomen variegated with the same colour; su- 

 perior wings freckled with black, the base brown ; a brownish 

 somewhat ear-shaped figure on the disc containing a long black 

 spot, with a narrow irregular fascia between it and the base ; 

 posterior margin with a dark brown fimbria, the internal margin 

 sinuated, with a large whitish spot at the centre and a trigonate 

 one at the apex, beneath which is a white dot and 7 crescents 

 along the margin, with a strongly crenated white striga down 

 the middle of the fimbria ; inferior wings with a dusky spot 

 towards the base, and a pale fuscous fimbria with an ochreous 

 tint. 



In the Cabinets of Mr. Wailes and the Author. 



The following insects may be formed into sections from the 

 colouring of the wings, but I doubt if there be any constant 

 essential characters to separate them. 1 have only a very bad 

 specimen of E. piceata, but it seems to be as nearly allied to 

 E.perfmcata as to E. suffumata, and the insect here figured 

 evidently connects E. ruptata and E. commanotata. The fol- 

 lowing are the species as they stand in the Guide. 



