NORTH AMERICAN I.KI'IDOPTERA. 83 



Not the least valuable i)aft of the work done on the group has 

 been done in the descriptions of early stages, and among these the 

 many detailed descriptions of life histories by Prof Lintner rank 

 high, while the excellent figures of the early stages of many of our 

 species furnislied by Prof Riley have perhaps done more to famil- 

 iarize their appearance and habits to those interested in entomology, 

 scientific or economic, than all word descriptions taken together. 



It remains now to outline the classification which my study of the 

 family has led me to adopt, and this is not materially different from 

 that of some of the other authors. Larval characters are omitted 

 entirely. I recognize four subftimilies : Macroghsdnce, Ghwrocam- 

 pince, Sphingitue and Smerinthince. 



The order of these I change from that adopted by me heretofore, 

 placing the tSphiiigime after instead of before the Chcerocampimc. 

 It need scarcely be noted that I have taken into account North 

 American forms only, and have but seldom had recourse to exotics 

 when the determination of a type made it necessary. 



The Macroglossince are usually placed at the head of the series, 

 because of their diurnal habit, and the general idea that it is the 

 most specialized group in the family. Boisduval, however, sees in 

 the tufted abdomen and often hyaline wings, an approach to the 

 SesiidfP., and places this subfamily at the foot of his series. 



As they stand in Mr. Grote's " New List" this subfamily — in 

 Hiibnerian jargon " Caudiberbes" yclept — has not a single character 

 to hold it together. Excluding Cautethia, the laterally or anally 

 tufted abdomen furnishes a base for the association. The group con- 

 tains species with clubbed antennae; species with fusiform antenna\ 

 and species with almost setaceous antennre. The head may be broad 

 and })rominent, or it may be small and retracted. The tongue in 

 some is very long and strong, in others it is weak and short. Some 

 have a slender, graceful habitus, others are heavy and obese ; in 

 short there is a most beautiful mixture. The explanation seems to 

 be that in this assemblage were placed all those aberrant forms which 

 were excrescences or abnormal developments, from whatever source. 



I have restricted the subfamily to those forms in which the an- 

 tennse are distinctly clavate, or enlarged at or before the ti]). 



The type of the genus Macroglossa, and consequently of the sul)- 

 family, is M. dellaiurum, a species closely resembling the form of 

 Aellopos, but with distinctly clavate antennae. M<icroglosm crotdictt 

 is not, I believe, congeneric with stellaturum, but seems to be so witii 



