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THE PTEROPHORIDAE OF AMERICA, NORTH 

 OF MEXICO 



For twenty-three years the Ftcrophoridac of North America have 

 received no more attention than the occasional description of ntvf 

 species or the publication of a few biological notes. In fact the pioneer 

 work on this very interesting family, Fernald's "Pterophoridae of 

 North America", has remained the only work available for the identi- 

 fication of our species. Since its publication in 1898 many new species 

 have inevitably been discovered, with the result that this excellent 

 paper is now entirely inadequate for the proper study of our fauna. 

 Unhappily, too, many new synonyms have been made, and the old 

 synonymy, hallowed by years of use, has proven to be erroneous in 

 several instances. Through spontaneous interest in these insects and 

 a realization of their incomplete and imperfect classification, we were 

 led over a year ago to commence this revision. In the course of our 

 studies we have investigated one point after another until our task 

 has exceeded our wildest anticipation, but we have fortunately suc- 

 ceeded in verifying all but a very few of the important questions which 

 have come up. Of the resources which have enabled us to do this 

 we will speak in detail. 



The types of North American species are included in seven col- 

 lections, viz., the U. S. National Museum, British Museum, American 

 Museum of Natural History, Museum of Comparative Zoology (Cam- 

 bridge Museum), the personal collections of Mr. Edward Meyrick, 

 Marlborough, England, and of Mr. Fordyce Grinnell, Jr., now in the 

 Southwest ]\Iuseum at Los Angeles, and last, but most important of 

 all, the Fernald collection, made by Prof. C. H. Fernald of Amherst, 

 Mass. Of these we have studied in person the material from the 

 National and Cambridge Museums, and the Fernald and Grinnell col- 

 lections. The last contains the types of Grinnell's species. Fernald's 

 collection is very rich in types, including Fitch's Pterophoridae, "para- 

 types" of most of Walsingham's North American species, all of Fish's 

 types and those of Fernald's own species. The American Museum 

 refuses to risk types in shipment, so Mr. Frank E. Watson has kindly 

 compared specimens for us with the types of Grossbeck's species. We 



