PHTT01tETRT>^?:. 401 



Subfamily PHYTOMETRIN.E. 



Proboscis f iilly developed excejit in Fjnsema ; palpi usually up- 

 turned, souietinies witb tufts of liair on 2nd and 8rd joints, in 

 Episema porrect ; frons smootb, usuall}' witb large tuft of hair ; 

 eyes smooth, overhung by more or less developed cilia, sometimes 

 small and elliptical ; antenna) of male usually ciliated, rarely l)ipec- 

 tinate, or serrate ; thorax clothed with scales and hair mixed or 

 Avitli hair only, the meso- and metathorax usually with large 

 divided crest ; tibiaj sometimes with large tufts of bail- and the 1st 

 joint of tarsus sometimes witb tuft of hair, the tibiaj typically not 

 spined but in some genera all the tibife or the hind tibia; only are 

 spined; abdomen usually with dorsal crests on basal segments, 

 those on 1st and 3rd segments large, sometimes with ridges of hair 

 on basal segments, the males sometimes with large protrusible 

 lateral tufts towards extremity or base, the species with this cha- 

 racter having usually a comb of long spines on inner side of 1st joint 

 of hind tarsi, apparently to assist in the protrusion of the tufts 

 which are probably scent organs for attracting the females. Fore 



Fig. 102. — Larva of Phytometrci yanima. i. 



wing usually triangular Avith the apex somewhat produced, the 

 termen usually evenly curved, but sometimes excised below apex 

 and excurved at middle, the tornus usually with more or less deve- 

 loped scale-tooth, the inner margin sometimes excised towards 

 tornus ; in AhrostoJa and Mouvalia there are small tufts of raised 

 scales on upperside in and below the cell ; vein 1 a Aveak, not anas- 

 tomosing with 1 J ; 1 e absent ; veins 3 and 5 from near angle of 

 cell ; G from upper angle ; 9 from 10 anastomosing with 8 to form 

 the areole ; 11 from cell. Hind wing v>'ith veins 1 a and h present ; 

 1 c absent ; the cell about half the length of wing ; veins 3 and 4 

 from angle ; 5 fully developed from above angle ; 6, 7 from upper 

 angle ; 8 anastomosing with the cell near base only. 



The Phytometrincs form a small, well characterised and very 

 natural subfamily except perhaps the genus Episema which is 

 somewhat aberrant. 



The Larvce are typically semiloopers witb tlie 1st two paii-s of 

 abdominal prolegs absent or in Abrostola small and non-functional, 

 but Episema has larvjR with all tlie ijrolegs fully developed and not 

 semiloopers. 



VOL. XIII. - i> 



