62 VARIETIES OF 



these two or three appendages are united ; others carry simple, 

 genicular fascia which spread out like a fan. In some cases, the first 

 joint of the tarsus is itself covered with hairs, and we experience 

 great difficulty in distinguishing the following joints beneath this 

 hairy covering. Lastly, a great number have simply the tibiae furnished 

 with a thick covering of scales which widen towards the extremity 

 as in many NOCTU^E. The leg and the thigh of the same fore feet 

 vary also in length " (* Histoire naturelle ' etc. (Deltoi'des) pp. 4-7). 



1. Family : Hypenidce, H.-S. 



This family consists of eight British species, of which Madopa 

 suite-alt* and Hypena obsitalis are rare with us, and Hypenodes albistriyatis 

 exceedingly local, the other species being, however, fairly common. 

 Only one species Hypena rostralis shows any tendency to vary largely, 

 but this exhibits a fairly wide range of variation. The raised tufts of 

 scales on the fore wings of the latter species are very marked. 



Of the Hypenida}, Guenee writes: "Intermediate between the 

 two other families of this division, the Hypenidcv are almost, 

 so to speak, the type of the Delto'ides, for whilst the Platydidce in- 

 cline more to the NOCTU^E, the Herminidce incline more to the PYBALES. 

 The Hypenidw have, on the contrary, a distinct facies, and if one could 

 find a distant resemblance to another group of the lepidoptera, one 

 would be inclined to turn to the GEOMETB^E as was done by the old 

 authors. The points which give some show of reason for this are the 

 large and slender wings, the similar Phalaeniform flight, the larvae 

 also slender and somewhat pointed at the extremities. But we must 

 be careful not to carry out the parallel too far, and return to the 

 exact characters of this family." He further adds: "The larvae 

 have only fourteen feet, and this character alone if it subsequently 

 confirmed itself would isolate them strikingly from Herminidce. The 

 imagines have the inferior wings generally more developed and 

 pleated; their colour is almost always unicolorous and without 

 markings. The species which have an areole are still in the majority 

 here. The palpi are always similar in the two sexes, nearly always 

 straight and broad, at times slightly arched, but rarely so much 

 bent as a scythe and never turned backwards. The antennae are 

 always without knots or tufts of scales, and the fore legs have not pre- 

 sented hitherto tufts of hairs" (' Histoire naturelle' etc. (Deltoi'des), 

 vol. viii., p. 17). 



Madopa, Stphs., salicalis, Schiff. 



This is a rare species in Britain, although occasionally captured 

 in our southern British counties, especially Kent and Surrey. The 

 specimens I have seen have exhibited no marked variation. The 

 species is described and figured by Schiffermiiller and Denis who 

 write : " Alis cinereis : anticis strigis tribus obliquis f ulvis, antennis 

 pubescentibus," which are exactly the words of the description of 

 Fabricius in the ' Mantissa,' p. 219, to which, however, Fabricius 

 afterwards added : " Statura obtusa fere Pyralidis. Strigae alarum e 

 flavo fulvoque compositae " (' Entom. System.' etc., p. 227). This 

 rare species is readily recognised by its slaty (bluish) tint, and three 

 distinct red transverse lines margined internally with yellow. It is 



