ANO THEIR TRANSFORMATIONS. 43 



Mr. Chaut," gives the Stonioxyformis of Stephens, as tlie female of Myopseformis ; whilst, to add to the con- 

 fusion, Mr. Stephens (lUustr. Mand. v. 4, p. ()9,) censures a "reference to my male jEgeria stomoxyformis, wkh 

 ciliated antaincc, as the female of JEg. culiciformis." 



If, as Jlr. Stephens at first stated, his specimen be a female, then the only diflference which I can find between 

 his descriptions of it, and of the female of the preceding species, is the colour of the under side of the fourth 

 abdominal segment ; but in such case, Mr. Stephens's description docs not accord with Hiibner's insect. If, on 

 the other hand, the specimen in question bo a male, then it is at once distinguished from all the other red-belted 

 species by the colour of its palpi. 



Si'iiiNX Ei>iiemeu^;foi(Mis of llaworth, referred to this genus by Ilaworth, Stephens, &c., belongs to another 

 family. It is allied to Psyche, and has been subsequently described and figured by Mr. Stephens, from a drawing 

 made by myself from Donovan's original specimen, under the name of Thyridopteryx, in the Transactions of the 

 Entomological Society of London. 



FAMILY v.— HEPIALID/E, Stephens. 



{ZcKzerides, Boisduval ; Xyleutitcs, Newman.) 



This is the first family of the great division of night-flying moths, named by LinnKus, Phala-na, and is 

 distinguished by having the antenna? generally short and filiform, never feathered to the tip ; the spiral tongue 

 cither obsolete or very short ; the palpi also generally obsolete ; the abdomen elongated, as are also the wings, 

 which are deflexcd in repose, the anterior i)air exhibiting a striking peculiarity in the disposition of the veins 

 quite unlike that of any other group, but wliich has not hitherto been noticed by any previous writer, and 

 which may partially be perceived in our figure of Zeuzera jEsculi (pi. 9, fig. 5). Tiie female is often 

 furnished with an exsortile ovipositor. The caterpillars are long, fleshy, naked grubs, with a few straggling 

 hairs. They are sixteen-footed, having six pectoral, eight ventral, and two anal feet. They are genejally nearly 

 colourless, and feed on the wood of trees, or at the roots of vegetables. When full grown, they construct a loose 

 cocoon of the materials upon which they have been feeding. The pupre are elongated, and have the abdominal 

 segments armed with transverse rows of fine rcflexed spines or booklets, which assist the insect in pushing itself 

 out of its cocoon to the surface of the earth or the exterior of the tree — immediately before assuming the perfect 

 state — the exuvia of the pupje being found sticking in such situations. 



This family, which is of small extent, is closely allied in respect to its transformations to the Trochiliidje ; 

 but the relation with the Smerinthi, suggested by Mr. Stephens, appears to me to be but slight, there being 

 other species of the Linnasan Bombyces which much more nearly approximate to these insects. 



G i! 



