Lepidoptera of New York and Neighboring States 67 



bases of the fore and hind wings. Abdomen long and clumsy, with- 

 out any modifications; in the female ending in complicated struc- 

 tures not yet fully understood. 



Eggs of flat type, rounded, usually scattered broadcast in the neigh- 

 borhood of the food. Larva (fig. 42) a borer; slender, cylindrical, 

 with a rather long head. Ocelli six, the four anterior not in a cres- 

 cent, but in an oblong group, the other two close to them. Maxilhe 

 of a peculiar type, the palpus with three free segments. Mesothorax 

 and metathorax with setse ia in front of ib, as on abdomen, v higher 

 than iii and iv. Abdomen with lateral setse high, iv higher than 

 spiracle, and the three arranged in an oblique row ; iiia and x well- 

 developed setse, but ix minute ; ninth segment of abdomen large, with 

 setse normally arranged. Prolegs normal, with multiserial hooks in a 

 complete ellipse, the upper hooks rudimentary and grading into the 

 skin granulations. The caterpillars normally bore in roots and root- 

 stocks, and those of Sthenopis are practically aquatic ; they are very 

 active. 



Pupa slender, fitting the burrow ; mandibles rudimentary, but sharply 

 defined; all sutures of head preserved except the clypeo-labral, even 

 the gena being distinct ; antennas short, maxillse very short and widely 

 divergent, quadrangular, not covering the labium, the parts not dif- 

 ferentiated; abdomen with two series of spines on each segment, the 

 end of the abdomen roughly spined, without a cremaster; seta? iv not 

 as high as in the larva. Abdominal segments 2 to 7 of male and 

 2 to 6 of female free. Pupa leaving burrow on emergence. 



The moths are mostly dusk-fliers, although H. hyperboreus flies in the 

 daytime. The family is world-wide and largely developed in Aus- 

 tralasia, with nearly 200 species. 



Key to the genera 



Fore wing with marked apex and straight or concave upper half of outer 



margin 1. Sthenopis. 



Fore wing with bluntly rounded apex 2. Hepialus. 



1. STHENOPIS Packard 



(Hepialus, in part) 



The larA'se, so far as known, bore in the roots of trees and shrubs growing parti- 

 ally submerged, and usually work below the water level. The moths have the habit 

 of swarming like midges, the males having a wavy, zigzag flight, and the females 

 apparently entering the swarm of males one by one. They are very short-lived 

 and do not come to light or sugar. The larvae feea at least two seasons, pupating 

 in early summer. The pupa has a peculiar comb of short spines on the venter of 

 the seventh segment of the abdomen, which also shows weakly in Phassus. The 

 genus is doubtfully distinct from Phassus. 



