LEPIDOPTERA. 295 



The abdomen is conical and extends beyond the inner angle 

 of the hind wings, when these are spread. 



The majority of the larvae are naked, of dull colors, and 

 provided with five pairs of prolegs. As a rule they feed 

 on the leaves of plants, but some are borers and some gnaw 

 into fruits. Among them are some of the most important 

 insects injurious to agriculture. 



Although the Noctuidae is a very large family, the efforts 

 that have been made to divide it into subfamilies have not 

 given satisfactory results. Many subfamilies have been in- 

 dicated ; but in most cases these proposed subfamilies appear 

 to be merely groups of allied genera which cannot be dis- 

 tinguished by any common character from the other similar 

 groups. In the following pages we have given illustrations 

 of a large proportion of these groups, in order to show,- as 

 well as we can in a limited space, the variations in form in- 

 cluded in this family. The sequence of groups adopted is 

 that given in the latest catalogue of the family, that by Pro- 

 fessor J. B. Smith ; in some respects we doubt its being 

 natural. 



There is a group of moths, the Deltoids, which are placed 

 at the foot of this family on account of their apparent re- 

 lationship to the Geometrids and to the Pyralids. These 

 moths are usually of dull colors and of medium size. The 

 name Deltoids was suggested by the triangular outline of the 

 wings when at rest, which is well represented by the Greek 

 letter delta. When in this position the wings slope much 

 less than with other Noctuids, the attitude being more like 

 that assumed by the Geometrids ; but the hind wings are 

 more nearly covered than with the Geometrids. Many of 

 the Deltoids have very long palpi, resembling in their size 

 those of the Pyralids. 



The Clover Hypena, Hypena scabra (Hy-pe'nasca'bra), is 

 a common Deltoid. The larva feeds on the leaves of clover, 

 and is a slender green worm. It measures when full grown 

 two-thirds inch in length and only about one-tenth inch in 



