VI PREFACE. 



races or varieties, when the distribution of the forms is better 

 known. 



In the N. American species Prof. J. B. Smith's most excellent 

 work with his clearly defined genera and species, as published in 

 his Catalogue of N". American Noctuidce and revisions of mauj- 

 groups of genera, has been almost entirely followed, its latest form, 

 published in ])r, Harrison G. Dyar's Catalogue of N. American 

 Lepidoptera, having appeared too recently to bo available for 

 reference in the present volume. The range and limits of variation 

 of the species from the Western States are, however, very imperfectly 

 known, and of the very numerous described species many only exist 

 as one or two specimens in scattered Collections in the States, so 

 that no specimens were available for examination, and of these 

 many will doubtless turn out to be varieties and not species when 

 long series ft'om numerous localities have been accumulated and 

 carefully examined. 



Prof. J. B. Smith has most liberally presented to the British 

 Museum specimens of all the species not before contained in it that 

 he could spare, has lent many others for examination, and has taken 

 great trouble to clear up numerous points of difficulty. Dr. Harrison 

 G. Dyar also has obtained Sir George Hampson the loan of many 

 species for examination from the National Collection at "Washington, 

 and has had coloured photographs prepared of all the unique types 

 contained in that Collection, and, in addition, has most kindly 

 wiitten descriptions of all the known larvte of N. American species, 

 puldished in tliis Volume under the initials " H. G. D." 



Mr. W. Beutenmuller,of the American Museum of Natural History, 

 New York, has lent specimens of several species contained in that 

 Collection and sent coloured drawings of the other types in it which 

 it was desired to figure. Dr. A. G. Mayer, of the Brooklyn Institute 

 of Arts and Sciences, has sent coloured figures of the types of species 

 from the Neumoegen Collection which is now in that Museum ; these 

 are reproduced on the plates and acknowledged in the text. Prof. 

 A. R. Grote, of Bremen, also has sent a few American species, and 

 Mr, T. D. A. Cockerell, of East Las Vegas, has sent some from 



