AMKRICAN LKPIJJOPTERA. 15 



minal joint strongly flattened, obtuse or truncate at apex. Maxil- 

 lary palpi obsolete. Tongue wanting. Ocelli none. Antennae 

 setaceous, as long or a little longer than the abdomen, basal joint 

 thickened, outer joints short, close set, scarcely pubescent in the 

 male. Legs moderate; spines of posterior tibia? a little before their 

 middle. Ovipositor exserted. Wings narrow ; hindwings as wide 

 or but little narrower than the forewings, lanceolate; cilia of mod- 

 erate length." 



The above is a translation of Zeller's description of the genus, 

 published in 1853. In his "Mittheilungen zur Kenntniss Nord- 

 amerikanischer Nachtfalter, 1873," the same author described three 

 species from Texas under the same generic name, and where he also 

 refers to the doubtful position of this " smooth headed " genus and 

 that perhaps the neu ration or primary stages might throw light on 

 this point. 



In his "Micro lepidoptera from Africa,"* Lord Walsingham de- 

 scribes the neuration and gives figures of the same and also of head 

 of the type of the genus Set. rutella Zell., which is as follows : 



Forewings 12 veins, 7 and 8 arising from a common stem out of 9, 7 to apex ; 

 o and 6 slightly curved, parallel, 3 atid 4 from a short, common stem ; 2 from 

 near angle of cell, curved at origin ; hindwings 8 veins, 2-3 from a point at angle 

 of cell; 5 and 6 from common stem, 6 to apex. 



This, then, renders our conception of the genus concise . The 

 figure of the head in Lord Walsingham's paper does not tally with 

 the description, as it appears anything but smooth scaled. Now, in 

 accordance with the above, none of the three North American spe 

 cies described by Zeller cau any longer be retained here and have 

 therefore been referred to the new genus Semiota. 



But two species are known to me which agree in venation and all 

 other essential characters and which are distinguished as follows: 



Larger, 20 mm. and over; hindwings obtusely pointed majorella. 



Smaller, 14 mm. ; hindwings acutely pointed sigmoi<lel la. 



S. majorella n. sp. --Sordid ochreous, with a satiny lustre. Second joint 

 of labial palpi externally and third above and beneath spotted with fuscous. 

 Head dull ochreous brown, occiput somewhat rough haired. Antennae slender 

 ( 9 ). three-fourths the length of forewing; slightly annulate with fuscous 

 above. Thorax speckled with purple-brown dots, more densely anteriorly. Fore- 

 wings of moderate width, sprinkled with purple-brown scales, aggregated in 



* Trans. Ent. Soc. Loud., 1901, p. 81, pi. vii, fig. 73. 



TRANS. AM. ENT. SOC. XXXI. JANUARY, 1905. 



