6 



PROCEEDINaS OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



VOL. XXXII. 



Hindwings narrower than the forewings, lanceolate with cilia 2-3; 

 S veins (or sonietiines only T veins, vein 4: absent, see page 10); 3 and 4 

 separate, connate or stalked; 5 and 6 stalked; 7 parallel to 6; 8 free; 

 internal Aein to stalk of 5 and 0; transverse vein sometimes more or 

 less obsolete. Posterior tibijB smoothly scaled. 



The genus is nearest and correlated with Zello^ia Stainton, which 

 differs mainly in the absence of vein 4 in the hindwings. 



From Cedestis Zeller it differs mainly in having veins 5 and in the 

 hindwings stalked instead of parallel. 



The larva3 feed within kmves, shoots, buds, fruit, or bark, and 

 pupate either in the mine or in a dense white cocoon outside the mine. 



The moths assume at rest a characteristic position, apparently 

 standing on their head, with the body and wings raised oliliquely or 

 sometimes nearl}- perpendicularly from the surface; l)efore settling 

 down to rest some of the American species at least execute a curious 

 seesawing motion by balancing the body up and down with the second 

 pair of logs as a ])ivot. 



Fig. 3.— Venation of Argykestia geodartella. 



Some of the species are occasionally numerous enough to l^e of some 

 economic importance. 



The genus Argyretithid is in the American Catalogue classed at 

 yjresent under the family Tineida^, following Meyrick's system in his 

 Handbook of British Lepidoptera, but, as before mentioned/' the writer 

 is inclined to follow continental writers on this point, and regard the 

 Argyrestida? as a subfamily under the Yponemeutidte, to which group 

 they seem to be more allied than to the Tineidie, notwithstanding the 

 rough head, which on the whole appears to be of less fundamental 

 importance, than has hitherto been given to that character.^ 



Some forty species of Argyi^edlila are known in Europe. 



In the United States the genus was first recognized by Clemens, who 

 in 1860 described one species. This species, oreasella^ wsoi at once 

 wrongly determined by Stainton as the European andereggiella Dupon- 

 chel, and has since remained obscured as a synonym of that species. 



«Proc. IJ. S. Nat. Mus., XXVII, 1904, p. 754. 



''Vide ,-,'eiuis Tnmitrrhi Walker, Busc^k, Proc. U. S. Nat. Mus., XXX, 1906, p. 729. 



