526 WILLIAM T. M. FORBES 



Key to the genera 



Palpi upturned; fore wing with R. to R 4 stalked 1. Rupela. 



Palpi porrect, beak-like; R 2 free 2. Schcenobius. 



1. RUPELA Walker 

 (Scirpophaga, in part) 



Palpi upturned, loosely held. Thorax with loose soft hair. Fore wing (fig. 

 298) with R, shortly stalked with R, and R 4 ; R, anastomosing shortly with Sc in 

 our species and hind wing with M 2 and M 3 stalked. M, long stalked with Sc + R. 



1. R. albinella Cramer. White, immaculate. 25 mm. (nivea Walker). 



June. Northern specimens are small. 



New York, Snake Hill, New Jersey, and south. New York: Staten Island. 



Patissa xantholeucalis Guenee ranges north to North Carolina. Its palpi are 

 beak-like but not long, R is stalked, and R t nearly obsolete (fig. 299). The wings 

 are white, with two yellow bands. 



2. SCHCENOBIUS Duponchel 



(Chilo, in par.t) 



Palpi beaklike, as long as head and thorax, and down-curved at apex. Thorax 

 without long loose hair; fore wing (fig. 299) with R, joining Sc, R and Rj free. 



The species are both close and variable and not fully understood. Some species 

 are sexually dimorphic, the female being paler, and often narrower winged than the 

 male. There appear to be good structural characters, but they have never been 

 worked out. The following key is incomplete but may be of some use as a 

 guide. The genus is a very difficult one in the South and is not well understood, 

 but in New York and the North generally only the well-characterized 8. sordi- 

 drllus, melinellus, and longirostrellus seem to occur. 



Key to the species 



1. Hind wing infuscated, fore wing fuscous (males). 



2. Expanse 25 mm 3. nitidellus. 



2. Expanse 40 mm 2. sordidellus. 



1. Hind wing white. 



2. Expanse over 50 mm.; yellow with brown markings 1. maximellus. 



2. Smaller. 



3. Postmedial line straight, running from apex to a dot in the fold two- 

 thirds way to margin; wings broader; sexes similar.. 6. longirostrellus. 

 3. Postmedial line fading out, or running into a longitudinal streak; wings 



narrower, especially in females. 

 4. Males. 



5. Fore wing smoky 4. unipunctellus. 



5. Fore wing yellow 5. melinellus. 



4. Females. 



5. Expanse over 35 mm 2. sordidellus. 



5. Expanse under 35 mm. 



6. Smoky or straw yellow 4. unipunctellus. 



6. Bright ochre, or overlaid with brown, leaving at least a yellow 

 costa 5. melinellus. 



1. S. maximellus Fernald. Male unknown. Dull ochre with a blackish longi- 

 tudinal shade from base to apex; an oblique series of blackish postmedial dots 



