LEPIDOPTERA. 
295 
The abdomen is conical and extends beyond the inner angle 
of the hind wings, when these are spread. 
The majority of the larvae are naked, of dull colors, and 
provided with five pairs of prolegs. As a rule they feed 
on the leaves of plants, but some are borers and some gnaw 
into fruits. Among them are some of the most important 
insects injurious to agriculture. 
Although the Noctuidae is a very large family, the efforts 
that have been made to divide it into subfamilies have not 
given satisfactory results. Many subfamilies have been in¬ 
dicated ; but in most cases these proposed subfamilies appear 
to be merely groups of allied genera which cannot be dis¬ 
tinguished by any common character from the other similar 
groups. In the following pages we have given illustrations 
of a large proportion of these groups, in order to show, as 
well as we can in a limited space, the variations in form in¬ 
cluded in this family. The sequence of groups adopted is 
that given in the latest catalogue of the family, that by Pro¬ 
fessor J. B. Smith; in some respects we doubt its being 
natural. 
There is a group of moths, the Deltoids, which are placed 
at the foot of this family on account of their apparent re¬ 
lationship to the Geometrids and to the Pyralids. These 
moths are usually of dull colors and of medium size. The 
name Deltoids was suggested by the triangular outline of the 
wings when at rest, which is well represented by the Greek 
letter delta. When in this position the wings slope much 
less than with other Noctuids, the attitude being more like 
that assumed by the Geometrids; but the hind wings are 
more nearly covered than with the Geometrids. Many of 
the Deltoids have very long palpi, resembling in their size 
those of the Pyralids. 
The Clover Hypena, Hypena scabra (Hy-pe'na sca'bra), is 
a common Deltoid. The larva feeds on the leaves of clover, 
and is a slender green worm. It measures when full grown 
two-thirds inch in length and only about one-tenth inch in 
