8 Mr. E, Newman's Notice of a Sachhearing Bombyx. 



ters, approaches Centra, and its tapering abdomen, raised when 

 at rest, suggests a close affinity to that genus ; but Abbott, 

 whose drawings of Georgian Lepidopterous larvse are worthy 

 of all praise, represents a larva of this genus grasping a twig of 

 Styrax grandifoliurn with anal prolegs : the species to which this 

 belongs is known, but has not received a name. As far as regards 

 the male antennae, the palpi and the maxillae, Perophora closely 

 approaches Heterocampa, but nothing can be more discordant than 

 the two larvae. Dr. Harris very properly contrasts the genus 

 with Dryocampa and Oiketicos, but concludes that it has but 

 slender affinities with either. The characters of Lochniceiis, Hete- 

 rocampa and Schizura had not been published when Dr. Harris 

 studied the insect in 1840; and his work of 1852 does not men- 

 tion them, perhaps considering the object of that work rather 

 utilitarian than scientific. 



Among British insects, the nearest approach we have to Pero- 

 phora is the TperCecl female of Odonest is jjotatoria; the similarity 

 extends to colour, distribution of marking, and venation of wings ; 

 but the antennae and palpi are very different ; the male of pofa- 

 toria has, like that of Perophora, a bifid apex to the abdomen. 

 These slight resemblances are, however, more than balanced by 

 the total discrepancy between the larvae of the two genera. 



The result of these observations seems rather to be that Lepi- 

 dopterists are right in grouping together the infinitely varied genera 

 of Bomhyccs ; since they show that the characters are intimately 

 interwoven, crossing each other at a vast number of points, like 

 the threads of which a net may be constructed ; but I think that 

 the difficulty of reconciling or harmonizing these peculiarities to 

 such an extent, as to obtain anything approaching to a perfectly 

 natural linear series of the objects themselves, is quite insuperable. 

 I may also venture to express an opinion, derived from a very 

 careful study of Bruand's admirable Monograph of the Psychides, 

 that the connexion of Perophora with that interesting group is 

 not so close as the primd facie characters of the larvae would lead 

 one to suppose. 



EXPLANATION OF PLATE I. 



Fig. 2. Perophora Batesii, $. 



2a, head and antenna of male ; 2li, portion of antenna of male mag- 

 nified ; 2 c, abdominal appendages of male. 

 Fig. 3. Perophora Batesii, $ . 



3a, antenna of female. 

 Figs. 4, 5, 6, Perophora Batesii, larva. 

 Fig. 7. Venation of win?. 



