Catalogue of the Lepidopterous Superfamily Noctuidae found in Boreal America

Pp. 424.  Early green cloth, lettered in gilt on the spine, 8vo.  This is Bulletin of the United States National Museum, no. 44.  The Noctuidae or owlet moths are a family of robustly built moths that includes more than 35,000 known species out of possibly 100,000 total, in more than 4,200 genera.  Some species of the family are preyed upon by bats.  However, many Noctuidae species have tiny organs in their ears that respond to bat echolocation calls, sending their wing muscles into spasm and causing the moths to dart erratically. This aids the moths in evading the bats (from Wiki).  From the research collection of Donald T. Ries with his signature on the title page dated 1928.  The initials D. T. R. appear in gilt at the bottom of the spine and his signature appears on the bottom page edge.