-.6 4 — 



Proceedings of the Entomological Club of the A. A. AS. 



(Continued from p. 125 ante.) 



The following paper was then read by its author. 

 NOTES ON SOME STRUCTURAL CHARACTERS 

 OF THE LEPIDOPTERA. 

 By John B. Smith. 



I had hoped and expected to be able to present a rather complete 

 review of the structural peculiarities of some groups or families of the 

 Lepidoptera and to propose a new scheme of classification; but lack of 

 time and too many other duties prevented the completion of the work, 

 and I will present only brief notes of a suggestive character. 



In many families in all orders, sexual peculiarities furnish characters 

 of high systematic value; but in the Lepidoptera these organs have never 

 been carefully studied and no systematic value has been attached to 

 them. Lederer in the "Noctuinen Europas" gives a number of figures 

 and describes a number of what he calls "after klappen", but his figures 

 are imperfect and misleading and the most essential parts of the structur- 

 al peculiarities were missed by him. 



For some time past the Noctuidse have been studied by Prof. Riley 

 and myself with the view of preparing a monographic work on the 

 family, and many interesting points in structure have been discovered. 

 Working over the Noctuidae suggested inquiries and studies in other 

 families, partly to fix relationships, and partly for purposes of comparison. 

 The discoveries of modifications of the genital organs of the <$ are such, 

 that a decided modification in our present classification of the Lepidop- 

 tera may have to be made. The diurnals are so well separated, that no 

 special examinations of them have been made, though what little I have 

 done shows that there is still much to be learned about them. The 

 normal structure of the clasping organs of the $ among the Heterocera 

 consists of a superior lunate or triangular corneous plate, which I call 

 the supra-anal plate; a variously shaped corneous hook soldered to the 

 tip, which I call the supra-anal hook: and an oblong, semi-chitinous 

 piece on each side, called the side piece; to which are often attached 

 corneous hooks or processes called claspers. The side pieces are move- 

 able, are very differently shaped, and afford excellent specific and per- 

 haps generic characters. The claspers also offer a wide — in fact infinite — 

 variation: so great a one indeed that in some groups there are no two 

 species alike, and the modifications are specific while in others they are 

 so constant that they afford good generic characters. 



My present purpose is to call' attention to some modifications of 



