556 William T. M. Forbes 



II. Fore wing not falcate, front definitely conical, usually with a sharp point; 

 hind wing M 2 and M 3 closely approximate. 



* Hind tibice with outer spurs about half the length of the inner. 



2. L. helvalis Walker. Bright yellow; lines clean-cut, yellow -brown, single 

 and not denticulate; costa yellow -brown; antemedial excurved; postmedial 

 broadly excurved above, with a blunt inward tooth on fold; orbicular a dot, 

 reniform a curved line; no subterminal. Hind wing paler, with a short straight 

 postmedial line pointing toward anal angle; both wings with even terminal 

 lines. 15-20 mm. (citrina Grote and Robinson.) 



September. 



Coast of Massachusetts to Florida and Texas. New York: Long Island. 



3. L. similalis Guenee. Typically dull ochre, somewhat shaded with fuscous; 

 lines diffuse, dark, shading imperceptibly into the median area, usually more 

 sharply denned on the side away from the median ar<~a, and defined with pale. 

 Terminal line waved, postmedial somewhat sinuous and denticulate, when dis- 

 tinct. Orbicular a blurred spot; reniform an oval spot or lunule, both dark 

 and diffuse. Hind wing somewhat paler, dark toward margin, translucent at 

 base; in fully marked specimens, with broad, vague, dark border, and sometimes 

 a faint dark postmedial line. 20 mm. {licealis Walker, communis Grote, 

 caffreii Flint and Malloch. 



Variety intractella Walker is the dark, fuscous form; rantalis Guenee is prob- 

 ably the same form; crinitalis Walker is brighter rusty orange, and posticata 

 Grote and Robinson (miserulata Grote and Robinson) is nearly immaculate 

 yellow with an immaculate white hind wing. Intergrades are common. 



Larva (the garden webworm) a general feeder, rarely injurious. Dull green 

 above and yellowish below, with a double pale dorsal, and whitish lateral, line. 

 Tubercles black. Four or more broods. 



Generally distributed. New York : Saranac Inn, Ithaca, Albany, Nassau ; 

 Woodhaven, Long Island. 



4. L. sticticalis Linnaeus. (Sugar-beet webworm.) Superficially very close 

 to L. commixtalis; upper outer spur of male hind tibiae nearly half as long as 

 lower one. A little smaller than L. commixtalis and more lightly built. Fore 

 wing with basal dash and streaks on veins nearly obsolete, light fuscous; 

 orbicular thicker and more obscure; postmedial line distinctly and finely denticu- 

 late ; yellow terminal shade widened opposite the cell, followed by a single 

 dark terminal line. Hind wing nearly concolorous, with a vague pale post- 

 medial shade; yellow marginal shade evener; terminal line single. 25 mm. 



Larva gray-green, yellower on sides, with black head and pale, dark-ringed 

 tubercles; a general feeder and sometimes injurious in gardens. 



Nantucket, Massachusetts; Madison, Wisconsin; Western States; Europe; 

 probably introduced in the East. New York: Ithaca, Big Indian Valley, East 

 New York. 



** Upper outer spur of male hind tibia reduced, less than a quarter the length 



of the inner spur. 



5. L. commixtalis Walker. Middle tibiae with a groove and pencil. Luteous, 

 heavily streaked with fuscous, especially on veins; terminal space yellow, 

 not broadened opposite cell; a long black basal dash with a pale shade above 

 it; antemedial line far out, deeply dentate, the longest tooth in the fold; 

 orbicular a horizontal ellipse when distinct, often confused with antemedial 

 line; followed by a yellow patch; this patch sometimes divided by a black 

 dash connecting the orbicular and reniform spots; postmedial line represented 

 by a series of black wedges, conspicuous beyond the cell, where their outer 

 sides form an even line, and their points extend in along the veins to the 



