AMERICAN LEPIDOPTERA. 191 



NEW NOCTUIDS FOR 1903. No. 4, WITH NOTES ON 

 CERTAIN DESCRIBED SPECIES. 



BY JOHN B. SMITH, SC.D. 



The first paper of this series is in the Can. Ent., xxxv, pp. 9-15, 

 and 6 species are there described ; the second is in the Journal of 

 the New York Ent. Soc, xi, p. 1-23, and 21 species are there de- 

 scribed. In the present paper 34 new names are proposed, and 

 there are critical notes on the species of Raphia, Fishia and Aeon- 

 tin. It was intended to add to this a revision of the species belong- 

 ing to the Eucalypterid series; but a fire in my laboratory destroyed 

 some of my notes and disarranged the material to such an extent 

 that it will be impossible to do systematic work for some time to 

 come. 



Under the circumstances it was deemed best to present the spe- 

 cies already in manuscript in this paper. 



Notes on the Species of RAPHIA Hbn. 



For many years two species of Raphia oidy were in our codec 

 tions — abrupta Grt and /rater Grt. Both of these are eastern spe- 

 cies, and, while they are undoubtedly distinct, it is not always easy 

 to separate them. Frater is common and variable; abrupta is rare 

 and its range of variation not yet understood. Quite usually a 

 somewhat obscurely marked frater does duty for abrupta, of which 

 I have only one pair in my collection at present. The 9 is from 

 Brazos County, Texas, and the female from Colorado ; which docs 

 not accord at first blush with the term "eastern species;" neverthe- 

 less, the faunal region is really the same. 



Abrupta may be most readily distinguished by the dusky second 

 aries of both sexes, and in this it differs from all the other species. 

 In addition, the ground color is a dull obscure gray as compared 

 with the dark rather clear gray of frater. In the %, abrupta is 

 narrower winged, the outer portion of the wing is paler beyond the 

 t. a. line and above the claviform, the claviform itself is well marked 

 and extends to the t. p. line. In the 9 these characters are ob- 

 scure and, except for the dusky secondaries, it would be difficult to 

 to distinguish from frater. 



TRANS. AM. KNT. SOC. XXIX. (24 JUNK. 1903 



