146 [September 



NEPTICULA, Zell. 

 Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philad., June. 1860, p. 214. Proe. Ent. Soc. Philad., 

 March 1862, p. 149. Id. Nov. 1861, p. 82. Id. Jan. 1862, p. 133. 



Since the foregoing pages were written, I have been successful in 

 rearing jV. saglncJIa from leaves of oaks, collected during the latter 

 part of July; and I am therefore able to say definitely, that while the 

 nepticuliform mines in the leaves of the chestnut maij be produced 

 by the larva of Bucculatrix fri/dsc if/hi, those in the leaves of oaks 

 are certainly the work of a Nepticula miner. 



The mines in chestnut leaves are shorther than those on oak leaves, 

 although very similar in appearance. The following is a table of the 

 species described to the present time. 

 Fore wings without spots or iascise. 



Pale ochreous, dusted with blackish-brown saginella. 



T. w. with a white spot and a costal streak. 



Dark brown Platanella. 



F. w. with pale or silvery fascire. 



Blackish-brown; fascia median, curved Eubifoliella. 



Purplish-fuscous; fascia oblique, rather broad fuscotibiella. 



Bronzy-green: with two fascise bifasciella. 



. Nepticula saginella.— Proc. Ent. Soc. Philad., Nov. 1861, p. 85. — -Fore wings 

 pale ochreous, sprinkled or dusted freely, with blackish-brown, over the entire 

 surface. Cilia ochreous, slightly clothed with blackish-brown. Head and face 

 blackish-brown. Eye-caps ochreous. 



The larvaj were taken nearly half fed in leaves of black oak, on the 

 29th of July, and at this date most of the mines are abandoned. The 

 larva is brisiht-green with a central dark-green line of ino-esta. Head 

 slightly touched with brownish. 



The mine is a serpentine, rather short tract, which, when occupied 

 or recent, is white and nearly transparent, with a narrow, very black 

 central frass line. It is frequently bent or curved as the larva ap- 

 proaches maturity. The cocoouet is yellowish-white. Both the imago 

 and larva are very small. 



Upon the authority of Mr. H. T. Stainton, for which I feel the high- 

 est respect, " the six anterior legs so universally present in Lepidopte- 

 rous larvae are wanting in Nepticula larvae, and are replaced by mem- 

 branous processes or prolegs;" each of the remaining segments are fur- 

 nished with a pair of prolegs making eighteen in all. I find after a 

 careful examination, that counting the head as the first segment, in 

 lY. saginella, the third and fourth have a pair of legs, the fifth segment 

 is without any, and the six following segments are each supplied with 

 a pair of prolegs. So that the formula for the legs of iV. saginella 



J. 



would stand thus, making sixteen in all : 



■2 6 



