BREPHINAE; BREPHOS. By L. B. Prout. 
1. Subfamily: Brephinae. 
We have noted in Vol. 4, p. 1 that this very small subfamily — or according to Meyrick section of 
the Oenochrominae — belongs only to the Nearctic and Palaearctie Regions. This, indeed, is not absolutely 
correct if Dyar is right in referring to it the very interesting Caenosynteles of Mexico; but the last-named 
genus has not the characteristic eye nor the general habitus of the Brephos group, and we only conserve its 
position here in order to avoid a tentative reclassification unaccompanied by sufficient research. Possibly, 
on the other hand, the Australian Dirce (vol. 12, p. 5, pi. 1 a) has more to do with the Brephinae than with 
the other Oenochrominae , for Dr. Turner has pointed out that in it, as in some Brephos, the 2nd radial of 
the hindwing is obsolete. Either, therefore, Meyrick must be followed in his assumption that we are dealing 
with the dispersed remnants of an archaic stirps, or else the existing classification is at fault. The early 
stages are only known in the case of the two Holarctic genera, Brephos and Leucobrephos. 
The Brephinae are characterized by the small, oval eye, the extremely hairy vestiture, short but 
strongly hairy palpus, scaled ventral surface of the proximal part of the antenna, long cells of both wings, 
yet with tendency to stalking of the veins beyond, position of the 4th subcostal of the forewing, which runs 
not into the apex but to costa 1 or 2 mm before apex, by the 16-legged larva, the T-shaped cremaster of the 
pupa, etc. 
1. Genus: Brephos Zinck. 
Face and palpus clothed with very long projecting hair. Antenna of the B serrate, in two European 
species shortly pectinate. Tibiae very hairy, the hindtibia somewhat thickened posteriorly, with the spurs 
very short, the proximal ones sometimes vestigial. Forewing narrow, 3rd and 4th subcostal veins coincident 
or extremely long stalked. Hindwing relatively ample, folded in repose, the 2nd radial not or scarcely stronger 
than the cell-fold. — Larva with all the prolegs present, the anterior pairs weak scarcely used in walking. 
On trees. The moths appear in the early spring, and fly in sunshine. 
B. infans Moschl. (= hamadryas Harr.) (1 a) is scarcely more than a race of parthenias L. (vol. 4, pi. 1 a), infans. 
but the teeth of the B antenna are less developed; in parthenias, when viewed from above, the longest give to 
the segment nearly the aspect of an equilateral triangle, in infans their sides appear decidedly more flattened. 
B. infans is on an average smaller, the hindwing brighter orange and with smaller cell-spot, but both species 
are variable. British Columbia B<$ before me have broader wings than the European and Labrador and larger 
cell-spot of hindwing than the Eastern American. Larva on birch. Local in N.E. North America and the 
Canadian Rockies. —■ oregonensis Swett is larger, the dark scaling blackish, cell-spot of hindwing larger, more oregonensis. 
isolated. Uncus a little longer and more curved at tip, more gouge-shaped, less pointed. Oregon. Apparently the 
British Columbia should be transferred here. 
B. flefcheri J. B. Smith is unknown to me, but is very distinct. Smaller, the forewing almost entirely fietcheri. 
sooty-black, the hindwing yellow with a rather narrow, irregular black border and a basal black area extending 
from one-third of the costal margin diagonally to the abdominal margin just before the anal angle; hindwing 
beneath with border nearly as above, a minute cell-mark and a narrow subbasal band. British Columbia: 
“Coldstream”, in March. 
B. calif ornicus Bsd. This species and the following, briefly described from California, probably do not belong californi- 
here, but have never been satisfactorily determined and the types are lost. It has been suggested that they may be- cus - 
long to the Arctiid genus Leptarctia (vol. 6, p. 306, vl. 39 b). “Aspect of notha and puella, but smaller. Forewing 
blackish grey, with 3 small white spots, one on the costa, another, very weakly expressed, towards the apex and the 
