1 85 



Thorax luimped, the vestiture tufted; ])iiinaries de'itate, with a widely curved 

 blaci-: t. p. line; else blotchy (scheckig bezeichnet) . . 3. jASi'ini.i;. 



Hiibner was thus the first to associate these forms, and so they re- 

 main to this day, all the names being in use. 



The .'^/>(2/^/r^ are chvided into three families: A, J//r<5r with narrow 

 primaries, very short secondaries, and long' abdomen; B, Pcrconfornies 

 with somewhat broader primaries, maculate with sagittate marks; and 

 C, Consimiles, with distinct ordinary spots and lines, gray. 



To the Mirce he refers a single Coitus; Excereta for Acronycta Jilmi. 

 To the Perconformes he refers four Coiti, Hyboma for A. strigosa (bod\- 

 slender, primaries pale spotted, with darker ground); Tricena (pale 

 species with psi mark and sagittate dashes) for tritona and allies; Jo- 

 checera (with sagittate marks, rather distinct stigmata and variegated 

 marking) for alni; and Acronida (white with only interrupted black 

 marks) for leporina and bradyporina. All these species are to-da\- 

 classed as either Apatela or Acronycta, though Mr. Grote not long since 

 revived some of the coiti names to designate divisions of the genus. 



The Consimiles contain three coiti; Calocasia for Demas cory/i, and 

 another; Pharetra for auricoiim and vienyanfhidis, and Arctoiiiyscis tor 

 aceris and allies. 



This illustrates the character of Hiibner' s work. His idea plainl\- 

 was to form assemblages of related forms, and in a very large propor- 

 tion of cases he was remarkably successful. 



Except for the genus Calocasia ( Demas St.) the entire stirps Apatelcc 

 is now referred to Acronvcta. They form an assemblage somewhat 

 variable in color and habitus, and these differences are seized on tc> 

 mark families, to which he gives names expressive of some attractive 

 or marked feature, such as Mircz, MacidatcE, Clarocoloratce, Nubilce, etc. 



Finally come his coiti, which correspond to our genera. Rarely has 

 he a coitus name like that of the stirps. Thus he says stirps Apatelcr, 

 but nowhere does he ha\e a coitus Apatela; while he has a coitus 

 Acro?iict(S, and writes Acronicta leporina. The coiti rarely contain 

 heterogeneous material, though not rarely a family corresponds to a 

 genus of to-day. In descriptive work Hiibner uses terms like the fol- 

 lowing: say for Drasteria cuspidea "A noctua semigeometra and Eu- 

 clidia maculata;" giving the phalanx, tribe, stirps and family as de- 

 scriptive terms; Drasteria being the coitus. Carefully examining 

 Hiibner' s works it will be found that he had for coitus the idea we have 

 {ox genus. Faniilia represents a simple group of allied coiti or genera, 

 and family terms are used over and over again. A Stirps represents to 

 him an association of similar families, while a IVibe represents oiu' pres- 

 ent idea of sub-family. 



The term "stirps" did not have for Hiibner that meaning that the 

 term genus has with the latter-day Entomologists, and his terms for 

 stirpes should not be used for genera; his coiti, where used, should be 



