NO. 1140. NORTH AMERICAN NOCTriDAE—SMITH AXD DYAR. 29 



climax in ohlinita and its immediate allies. The flattening of the head 

 is accompanied by a tendency to shorten and soften the tongue. The 

 palpi are well developed though moderate in size, well clothed with 

 scales, the second joint longest and stoutest, the terminal short and 

 stumpy. As a whole, the palpi are oblique or curved upward on the 

 front, on which they usually reach the middle, though in group ameri- 

 cana the opposite is usual. Ocelli are distinctly present. The anten- 

 nae are simy)le in both sexes. 



The thorax is almost quadrate, rather small in proportion, and without 

 distinct tuftings. There is a somewhat compact massing of scales pos- 

 teriorly, overhanging the junction with the abdomen, but it forms no 

 true tufting. The vestiture is a mixture of scales and scaly hair, vary- 

 ing somewhat so as to seem more hairy in the americana series and 

 more scaly in the lobeliae group. The collar is sometimes a little 

 uplifted, but not at all prominent, and usually lies closely applied to 

 the body of the thorax. The patagiae are also applied to the body, so 

 that in a well preserved specimen at rest the thorax is evenly though 

 somewhat feebly convex. The legs are moderately stout and i)roi)or- 

 tionate, not spinulated or in any way armed except as usual on the tarsi, 

 and with the spurs of the middle and hind tibiae normally developed. 

 The tibial epiphysis of the fore legs varies somewhat in size and posi- 

 tion, and in fact the range is as great as in the entire Xoctuid family 

 taken together, if we exclude the Deltoids. There is also a diSereuce 

 in the relative length of the various members, but nothing that is dif- 

 ferent from what may be found in allied genera. The fore wings vary 

 in form from broadly trigonate to narrowly lanceolate, while the sec- 

 ondaries are proi^ortionate, with an even outer margin. The outer 

 margin of the primaries is also even, the fringes of moderate length, 

 and never scalloped or even wavy. In some si^ecies of the lobeliae 

 group there is a little tendency to form an obtuse angulation at about 

 the middle of the i^rimaries, but this is vague except in falcula and 

 parallela. 



The abdomen exceeds the hind angle of the secondaries, is rather 

 long in proportion to the thorax, subequal and ending obtusely. There 

 are no dorsal tuftings, but there is a loose mass of fine hair laterally at 

 base. In the male the segments are marked laterally by projecting 

 vestiture, whicli does not form positive tufts. 



The venation otters nothing peculiar, and variation, so far as it has 

 been found, seems to be individual or at most specific, and occurs only 

 in that group originating from the end of the subcostal. Vein 5 of the 

 secondaries is distinctly more weak than the others and arises some- 

 what nearer to 4 than to G. 



As a whole, the characters of the genus are negative. There is no 

 distinctive feature, if we except the generally gray or white ground 

 color and the tendency to the formation of psi markings on the pri- 

 maries. This is not, in one sense, a structural character, yet ornamen- 



