NORTH AMERICAN LASPEYRESIINAE AND OLJETHREUTINAE 79 



sisting of a pale area at toinus with a more or less pronounced 

 dark central spot, a partially encircling dark band and, above this, 

 two or more black dots or streaks, the whole leaching well up toward 

 apex at termen, bounded inwardly by more or less metallic scaling 

 and above by a narrow dark curved band extending to termen. 

 Specific differences in color and markings are often slight but ap- 

 pear to be consistent. 



On several characters (the smooth thorax, distinctly concave ter- 

 men, approximate condition of veins 3, 4, and 5 at termen, and the 

 strongly marked ocelloid patch of fore wing) Episimus would go 

 as well in Eucosminae as in Olethreutinae. The male genitalia are, 

 however, more olethreutine than otherwise, and in all the species that 

 I have seen except one {tyrius) veins 3 and 4 of hind wing are dis- 

 tinctly connate. In tynus they are stalked. 



The genus, therefore, while it lies close to the Eucosminae and 

 shows certain affinities to the Epinot'm branch of that subfamily 

 should be regarded as part of the Olethreutinae. 



I should perhaps mention that the tuft on thorax under fore wing 

 and which Walsingham gives as a distinguishing character for 

 FJpiumus occurs in practically all Olethreutinae as a simple scale- 

 tuft. In Episitnus^ however, it has more or less of a mixture of hair 

 and scales and in some species the hairs are very thick and long 

 {trans f err anus and Tiesiotes for example). 



KEY TO THE SPECIES OF KPISIMtTS 



1. Fore wing with a conspicuous, rounded, dark spot on dorsum just before 



middle (2) augmentanus. 



Fore wing without such 2. 



2. Fore wing witli a large reddish purple costal patch covering most of basal 



half of wing; dorsal area bordering this patch, whitish; hind wing with 



veins 3 and 4 stalked (3) tyrius. 



Fore wing with costal patch an obscure dark smudge on midcosta ; dorsal 

 margin at base not whitish ; hind wing with 3 and 4 connate. 



(1) argutanus. 



1. EPISIMUS ARGUTANUS (Clemens) 



(Figs. 183, 392) 



Bactraf argutivna Clemens, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 1860, p. 

 358.— Packard, Fifth Rep. U. S. Ent. Comm., 1890, p. 282. 



Catastega hamameUella Clemens, Proc. Ent. Soc. Philadelphia, vol. 1, 

 1861, p. 87 ; Tin. N. Amer., 1872, p. 178.— Dyak, Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash- 

 ington, vol. 5, 1903, p. 128. — Fernald, in Dyar List N. Amer. Lepid., 

 no. 5807, 1903. — Baknes and McDunnough, Check List Lepid. Bor. 

 Amer., no. 7279, 1917. 



Orapholitha (Hcdya) allutana Zelleb, Verb. Zool.-bot. Ges. Wien, 1879, 

 p. 295. 



