528 DESCRIPTIONS OF AUSTRALIAN MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA, 



nothing improbable in this, as the larvse may feed in some rapidly 

 decaying substance, though he was unable to rear them ; I do not 

 doubt the correctness of his observation, but have been unable to 

 confirm it ; on the contrary, I have more than once observed the 

 female in confinement deposit eggs in the normal way; hence the 

 habit must be variable, and may perhaps be influenced by the heat 

 of the weather, or by the undue retention of the eggs in the 

 absence of suitable food for the larvse. 



69. Blab, argillacea, n.sp. 



(J9. 13-18 mm. Head white, ochreous-tinged. Palpi dark 

 fuscous, mixed with whitish. Antennae whitish-fuscous. Thorax 

 fuscous-whitish, patagia dark fuscous. Abdomen whitish-grey. 

 Legs dark fuscous, apex of joints and posterior pair whitish. 

 Forewings elongate, rather narrow, costa gently arched, apex 

 obtuse, hindmargin obliquely rounded; pale ochreous, densely and 

 suflfusedly irrorated with ochreous-whitish, with a few scattered 

 blackish scales, especially towards costa posteriorly and anal 

 angle ; anterior half of costal edge blackish ; thi-ee blackish dots 

 on submedian fold, indicating marginal indentations of an obsolete 

 pale dorsal streak ; discal impression pale, placed in an oblique 

 ill-defined dark fuscous suff'usion : cilia pale whitish-ochreous, with 

 rows of black points. Hindwiugs pale whitish-fuscous, with 

 brassy-yellowish reflections ; cilia ochreous-whitish. 



Melbourne and Warragul, Victoria; Adelaide, South Australia; 

 four specimens in September and December. 



70. Blab, ethelella, Newm. 



(Tinea ethelella, Newm., Trans. Ent. Soc. Lond. iii. (n.s.}, 288 ; 

 T. rectella, Walk. 482 ; Blabophanes namuella, Feld., Reis. Nov. 

 pi. CXL. 44; B. ethelella, Meyr., Trans. N.Z. Inst. 1887, 97.) 



^$. 13-20 mm. Head ochreous-whitish. Thorax dark fuscous, 

 with broad ochreous- white dorsal stripe. Forewings dark fuscous ; 

 costal area dotted with ochreous-whitish ; an ochreous-whitish 

 iri-egular-edged dorsal streak from base to anal angle ; a trans- 

 parent ochreous-whitish discal spot : cilia ochreous-whitish, barred 



