LEPID OP TERA . 29 1 



or less lizard-like tail. They live upon the foliage of shrubs 

 and trees, and transform in a web between the leaves, or 

 in a case in a rolled-leaf. 



Only a small number of species occur in our fauna; at 

 present we know only eight ; and all but one of these pertain 

 to the eastern half of the continent. 



Our most common Hook- tip Moth is Platypteryx arcu- 

 ata (Pla-typ'te-ryx ar-cu-a'ta). This species is of a dirty 

 white color marked with dark brownish lines and bands as 

 shown in Figure 345. Its larva feeds upon white birch. Pla- 

 typteryx genicida (P. ge-nic'u-la), another eastern species, re- 

 sembles the preceding, but differs in being of a light ochre- 

 yellow color and in the course of the wavy lines on the front 

 wings. A third similar species occurs in California; this is. 

 Platypteryx siculifera (P. sic-u-lif'e-ra). 



Family Cymatophorid^: (Cym-a-to-phor'i-dae), 

 The Cymatophorids (Cym-a-toph' o-rids). 



The Cymatophoridae include moths of medium size, 

 with elongated wings. The front wings are usually slightly 

 widened at the inner angle (Fig. 348), and in our more 

 common species are conspicuously 

 marked with wavy or zigzag lines. 

 The antennae are filiform and more 

 or less velvety or pubescent in the 

 male, and the maxillae are well 

 developed. The moths fly by day, 



and when at rest fold their wings FlG . ^ z ._ T hyatira scripta. 

 roof-like upon the abdomen. 



The venation of the wings is illustrated by Figure 349. 

 The important features to be noted are the following: In 

 .the front wing vein V 2 arises midway between veins V 1 and 

 V 3 ; while in the hind wing vein V 2 arises much nearer to V, 

 than to Vj. In the hind wing the subcosta and radius are 

 distinct, and vein V, is joined to radius by a comparatively 



