Cossides 



Syn. pl<:tia V^'aXkQX ; fascia ta Grote & Robinson; iiiontana Henry Edwards ; 

 aiiira Pagenstecher. 



The species is widely distributed throughout the entire United 

 States. It is very common in western Pennsylvania. 



Genus HEXERIS Grote 

 (i) Hexeris enhydris Grote, Plate XLVII, Fig. 35, 6 . 



Syn. reticiiUna Beulenniuller. 



The moth occurs in the subregion of the Gulf. 



Genus MESKEA Grote 



(1) Meskea dyspteraria Grote, Plate XLVll, Fig. ^b, $ . 

 The moth is found in Florida and the region of the Antilles. 



FAMILY COSSID/E 



" Bright insect, ere thy fihiiy wiug, 

 Expanding on the breath of spring, 



Quivered with brief enjoyment, 

 'T was thine for years immured to dwell 

 Within a lone and gloomy cell, 



To eat, — thy sole employment." — Achcta Donteilica. 



The CossiJiV, " Goat-moths," or "Carpenter- worms," as they 

 are familiarly called, have sorely puzzled systematists. Some 

 writers have been inclined to regard them as allied to the Tortri- 

 cidiV. We assign them the position in the linear series which is 

 accorded them by Hampson and also by Dyar. They form a very 

 distinctly defined group, whatever their relationships may be. 

 They are succinctly described by Hampson in "The Moths of 

 India," Vol. I, p. 304, as follows: "Proboscis absent; palpi usu- 

 ally minute or absent; antennae bipectinated to tip or with distal 

 half simple in both sexes, or wholly simple in female. Tibi:3e v/ith 

 spurs absent or minute. Fore wing with vein \b forked at base; 

 \c present; an areole formed by veins 7 and 10; veins 7 and 8 

 forking- after the areole; the inner margins usually more or less 

 lobed. Hind wing with three internal veins; vein 8 free from 

 the base or connected with 7 by an erect bar at end of ceil. Both 

 wings with forked veinlets in cell. The female may have as 

 many as nine bristles to the frenulum. 



37? 



