P^DISCA. 51 



Fore wings cinereous brown, somewhat mottled with whitish and fuscous scales, ferruginous 

 towards the apex : the costa rather arched, with an appressed fold in the male near the base ; 

 apical margin slightly indented, scarcely oblique ; a rather square white spot on the middle of 

 the dorsal margin, interrupted by a few brownish scales, in the female with a white streak 

 joining it obliquely from the costa : some whitish abbreviated streaks from the costa beyond 

 the middle, with two steel-blue wavy streaks meeting at the anal angle and enclosing three 

 black lines in the ferruginous ocellated spot. Hind wings fuscous brown. Legs cinereous 

 brown, spotted with whitish. 4 <S . Expanse of wings 13 millims. 



Sonoma County, California, May 23rd, 1871 ; and on Rouge River, Oregon, May 7th, 

 1872. 



This species is nearly allied to P. trigeminana, Steph. (Stand, and Wocke, 1101), but is 

 slightly smaller, the fore wings shorter in proportion to their breadth, the dorsal spot whiter, 

 the ocellated patch less distinctly visible, the hind wings darker, and the palpi rather longer 

 and more conspicuous. I am informed by Prof. Zeller that he has a specimen of the true 

 P. trigeminana from California ; and Prof. Fernald has also a specimen from the same locality 

 which approaches even more nearly to it than my P. hirsutana. I have two specimens in my 

 own collection, taken in California, which I believe to be P. trigeminana ; but I had long since 

 made a note of their distinctness from the species above described, which appears to be very 

 constant in its characters. 



Since writing the above. Prof. Zeller has most generously presented to me the specimen 

 above referred to, which exactly resembles in colour and shape one of my supposed P. trigemi- 

 nana from California. It is, however, much larger. I am by no means convinced that it is 

 not another good and distinct species. In any case it seems distinct from P. hirsutana. 



Paedisca improbana. (Plate LXXII. fig. 2.) 



SciapHla improbana, Wallcer, Cat. Lep. Het. xsviii. p. 337. 

 Paedisca diffinana, Walker, Cat. Lep. Het. xxviii. p. 378. 



Palpi projecting about the length of the head beyond it ; the second joint clothed, obtuse; 

 apical joint conical and exposed. Fore wings — three times as long as wide, with the costa 

 scarcely arched ; the apical margin oblique ; apex slightly rounded — dark ashy brown, inclining 

 to fuscous, with a slight purplish gloss and some abbreviated brownish-fuscous costal streaks 

 and indistinct transverse strigse. There is a brownish-fuscous rather mottled basal patch 

 clearly defined at its outer edge, where it forms a bold subacute angle on the middle of the 

 cell, nearly reaching an excrescence projecting from the inner edge of an indistinct oblique 

 fascia of the same colour, which runs from the middle of the costa to the anal angle ; two 

 small brownish-fuscous spots are situated about the middle of the dorsal margin. Hind wings 

 pale brownish : cilia cinereous whitish, with a slender dark line near their base. Type $ , not 

 S as stated by Walker. Expanse of wings 18 millims. 



St. Martin's Falls, Albany River, Hudson's Bay. Presented by Dr. Barnston. 



h2 



