318 LEPIDOPTERA. 



mata, and between these stripes are faint longitudinal lines. 

 It fed on clover and went into the chrysalis state Sept. 21st." 



The two remaining genera have broad wings, and are black- 

 ish, with numerous transverse waved lines. The edges of the 

 wings are scalloped, the palpi are very long, and the head nar- 

 row between the eyes, thus showing their affinities to the 

 Plialcenidm. The species of Homoptera are of a dark ash 

 color. H. lunata Drury has a lunate discal spot. 



Erebus is a gigantic moth, with the outer margin verj- 

 oblique and a large, incised, discal spot and sublunate margi- 

 nal spots. Our large, blackish species, dark as night, is Ere- 

 bus odora Drnrj ; it expands about five inches. The magnifi- 

 cent, pale gray Erebus Acjrii^pina Cramer (E. strix of 

 Fabricius) inhabits Brazil ; it expands nearly ten inches. 



Pi-iALiENiD^ Latreille (Geom.etridce) . The Geometrids are 

 easily known by their slender, finely scaled bodies and broad 

 thin wings, which in repose are not folded roof-lilve over the 

 body, but are spread horizontally and scarce!}' overlap each 

 other. The antennas are usually pectinated. Thej^ are deli- 

 cate, pale, often greenish or j^ellowish moths, and fly more b}'' 

 day than the Noctuids. The pal^^i are short and slender, and 

 the tongue, or maxillee, is weak and short. 



The larvae rarelj'^ haA'e more than ten legs, some having four- 

 teen, and a few (Metrocampa and Ellopia) twelve. Thus from 

 the absence of legs on the basal rings of the abdomen, the larvae 

 are loopers, or geometers, as grasping the object on which thej" 

 are walking with their fore legs, they bring the hind legs close 

 np to the fore legs, thus making a loop like the Greek letter 

 Omega. They usually let themselves down b}' spinning a 

 silken thread, hence they are sometimes called "Drop-worms." 

 When about to pupate, the larva either . spins a slight, loose, 

 silken cocoon, or conceals itself under a covering of leaves 

 fastened together with silk, or buries itself in the ground 

 without any cocoon, while Harris states that a yevy few fasten 

 themselves to the stems of plants and are changed to chrysa- 

 lids, which hang naked and suspended by the tail. The pupa 

 is long, slender, conical, generally smooth, sometimes with 

 la-teral protuberances on the head, and usually dark brown, but 



