Evolution, ajid Taxonomy 107 



sufficiently to warrant my expressing any views as to their re- 

 lationships to each other. In the Arctiidse we find the most 

 marked tendency to the reduction of the subcostal cell of the 

 hind wings, subcosta and radius being consolidated in some 

 genera for the greater part of their length. (PI. Ill, i). 



Family Noctuid^. 



Family L,iparid.E. 



Family Agaristid.^. 



Family Arctiid.S. 



FFFF. Isolated families of specialized Frenulum- C07ise7'vers . 

 — The families that are grouped together here agree with the 

 Noctuids and the Noctuo Bombycids in the direction of the 

 migration of vein V,^, the tendency being to form a four- 

 branched cubitus. But each of the following families exhibit 

 striking peculiarities of specialization which isolate it from 

 all of the others as well as from the preceding group of 

 families. 



G. The clear winged moths are placed here provisionally, 

 although I believe that their true position is among the Mi- 

 crofrenatae. But as I have studied them and the Micro- 

 frenatas only superficially, I will not presume to make so 

 radical a change. In this family there is a high specializa- 

 tion of the wings, although the anal area of the hind wings 

 in many cases retains three anal veins. This is a combina- 

 tion of characters not found elsewhere in the Macrofrenatse, 

 but is quite characteristic of the Microfrenatae. 



Family Sesiid^. 



GG. The Window-winged Moths exhibit a type of wing 

 venation not seen elsewhere among moths. The most strik- 

 ing feature of it is expressed by saying that all of the branches 

 of radius of the fore wings are preserved, and all arise from 

 the discal cell (Plate III, Fig. 2). A similar type of venation 

 is exhibited by the Hesperidae (Plate III, Fig. i ). Whether 

 this similarity has arisen independently, or whether it indi- 

 cates a closer genetic relationship than has been assigned to 

 these families heretofore I will not presume to saJ^ with my 

 present knowledge. The fact that in the Hesperidae the 

 frenulum brace is well preserved, may have some bearing on 

 the settlement of the question. Family Thyridid.-E. 



