68 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Voi. iv. 



longing to the latter species. Andrector is placed in the same sub-tribe 

 as Cerotoma and Diabrotica, which would rather oppose the idea of a 

 protective mimicry, though by no means disproving it. We simply need 

 more information in regard to the matter as all may be alike inedil)le. 

 Since my paper was published, I have found the larvae of Dia- 

 h'otica vittata so excessively abundant in some greenhouses near Cincin- 

 nati, as to entirely ruin the cucumber vines being grown therein. The 

 date of my observations was December 28, and at that time I found 

 adults, and larvce from one-half to two-thirds grown, but mostly the 

 former. 



ON THE PROBABLE ORIGIN OF THE PERICOP- 

 IDiE: COMPOSIA FIDELISSIMA H.-S. 



By Harrison G. Dyar, A. M., Ph.D. 



The Pericopidas are a tropical American family of moths with the 

 venation of Noctuidoe, most allied in their colors, perhaps, to the Diop- 

 tidse. Three genera occur in our fauna, Gnophcela, Composia and 

 Daritis. 



In placing the North American families in systematic position on 

 their larval characters, I was able to show from the writings of Bruce 

 and Cockerell that the abdominal tubercles of Gnophcela were the same 

 as in the Arctiidte ; but was unable to get further in the absence of ma- 

 terial and the unfortunate brevity of the published descriptions. Now, 

 however, I have obtained many larv^ of Composia, and have been 

 able to rear them by the kind assistance of Mr. F. Kinzel. They were 

 found on the vines of Echites iimbellata ( determined by Mr. Kinzel ) 

 at Palm Beach, Florida, during the Christmas holidays. Composia is 

 a moderately specialized Pericopid type, and its larvae may be supposed 

 to be characteristic of the family. The following are the larval char- 

 acters : 



Warts many haired, simple, not tufted, the arrangement as in the 

 Arctiidae, but with a distinct tendency to the coalescence of the two 

 upper warts on the meso- and post-thoracic segments. Primitive first 

 stage present, wart formation not highly specialized, head setae very 

 simple, no secondary hair formation. Body long, cylindrical, Noctui- 

 dous rather than Arctiiform, joint 12 slightly enlarged. 



