( 23H ) 



THE GENUS PSECADIA. 



Characteristic. 

 The rather long aud pointed ter- 

 minal joint of tlie recurved palpi 

 distingui.<Iics tlii.< genus from Ihjpo- 

 iwmciitdy -wlucli it resembles in the 

 elongate fomi of the wings; and in 

 some of the species we find, as iu 

 Ilyponomcuta, that the Avhite or 

 whitish anterior wings are adorned 

 with black spots. Vou Heinemann 

 removes the genus from the Hypo- 

 nomcutid(E to ])lace it amongst the 

 Gclcch'uhe, with which in the neura- 

 lion of the wings there is certainly 

 cousidciable resemblance. I had 

 formerly a notion that the dark- 

 coloured species could be generically 

 distinguished from the pale-coloured 

 ones, but our added knowledge of 

 the group of late years has quite 

 dissipated this idea. In one single 

 species, Pyrausta, the structure of 

 the palpi (with very short terminal 

 joint and with the second joint 

 roughly hairy) would almost seem to 

 require a distinct genus for its recep- 

 tion, but the general appearance of 

 the insect is otherwise so precisely 

 that of Chrysopycfu and Flaviti- 

 bicUa, that it may perhaps be better 

 to leave them together. 



Habit of Imago, 

 ^lost of the species seem very 

 retired in their habits; some may be 

 found in ihe dav-lime sitting on 



LE GENRE PSECADIA. 



Caractere essentiel. 

 L'articlc terminal a.sscz long et 

 pointu des palpes recourbes dis- 

 tingue ce genre (VJfypo/wfncufa, 

 auquel il ressemble quant a la forme 

 allongee des ailes anterieures; aussi 

 trouvous nous chez quelqucs cspeces, 

 comme chez les Ilyponomcuta, 

 les ailes anterieures blanches ou 

 blanchatres, ornees de tachcs noires. 

 Von Heinemann a * eloigne ce 

 genre des Ilyponomeutidce pour le 

 placer parmi les Gehchidce, aux- 

 quels quant a la venation des ailes 

 il y a sans doute asscz de similarite. 

 J'avais autrefois I'idee que lesespeccs 

 h couleurs foncees pouvaient etre dis- 

 tinguees geueriquement des especes 

 a couleurs pules, mais la connais- 

 sance que nous avons acquise de ce 

 groupe deruierement m'a fait aban- 

 donner cette idee. Chez une seule 

 espece, la Pyraustn, la conforma- 

 tion des palpes (avec I'article ter- 

 minal tres-court et avec le deuxiemc 

 article grossicremeut velu) paraitrait 

 presque-cxiger un genre distinct pour 

 la recevoir, mais I'insecte ressemble 

 tellement quant a son aspect general 

 aux Chrysopyga et Flavitibiclla, 

 qu'il vaudra peut-etre mieux de les 

 laisser ensemble. 



Mceurs du Papillon. 

 La plupart des especes paraisscnt 

 vivre tres-cachees; on pent trouver 

 qnclques-unes le jour assises sur les 



