Noctuidae 



(3) Charadra decora Morrison, Plate XVII, Fig. 29, $ . 

 (The Dandy.) 



Syn. fclina Drucc. 



This is likewise a Mexican species, which is said to occur 

 in Arizona, but the fact of its being found there requires 

 verification. 



One other species of the genus, C. dispiilsa Morrison, occurs 

 in the Southern States. 



Genus RAPHIA Hubner 



( 1 ) Raphia frater Grote, Plate XVIII, Fig. 3, ? . (The 

 Brother.) 



Syn. pcrsonata Walker; flcxuosa Walker. 



There are three species belonging to this genus in our 

 fauna. They are closely alike in appearance. The species we 

 figure occurs in the Eastern States. R. abrupta Grote is also 

 an eastern species, while R. coloradensis is found in the West. 



Genus APATELA Hubner 



This is a large genus, well represented in the temperate 

 regions of both the Old V^orld and the New. The latest 

 Catalogue of the Lepidoptera of the United States credits our 

 fauna with seventy-five species. The genus has been mono- 

 graphed by Smith & Dyar. (See Proceedings U. S. Nat. Museum, 

 Vol. XXI, pp. 1-104.) Within the compass of these pages we 

 cannot do more than give a representation of a number of the 

 forms, which have been described, leaving the student to 

 further researches in the readily accessible literature of the 

 subject. 



(i) Apatela americana Harris, Plate XVIII, Fig. 12, 9. 

 (The American Dagger-moth.) 



Syn. acericola Guen6e; ohscura Henry Edwards; accris Abbot & 

 Smith {non Linnaeus). 



This is one of the largest species of the genus. 



The caterpillar feeds upon deciduous trees of many genera, 

 and the insect occurs from New England to Utah and south 

 to the Gulf States. 



(2) Apatela dactylina Grote, Plate XVIII, Fig. 17, 5. 

 (The Fingered Dagger-moth). 



Easily distinguished from the preceding species, which it 



153 



