SOUTH AFRICAN BAGWOBMS. 605 



In tlie CossidEe the larvas live as a mile in the stems of 

 trees and smaller plants, making galleries in which they also 

 pupate. No true Cossids are, as far as I know, free feeders, 

 and to find " bagworm-moths " that have some Cossid 

 characters is certainly a point of biological and phylogenetic 

 interest. 



The only characters that throw the genera Grymnelema 

 and Trichocossus out of the Cossidae are the presence 

 of well-developed spurs on the hind tibiae, and the under- 

 development of vein Ic of the fore wing. The venation of 

 both wings resembles otherwise, perhaps, more the typical 

 Cossid wing than the Melasina wing. 



If we follow Meyrick's classification as given in his ' British 

 Lepidoptera,' we come to the conclusion that the two genera 

 in question have to come in the Tineina-group, and not in the 

 Psychina-group (in which the Cossids come), as the middle 

 spurs of the hind legs are present and well developed. On 

 the other hand, in the Tineina vein 5 of fore wing is as a 

 rule less close to 4 than is the case in G-ymnelema and 

 Trichocossus. Also, in these two genera the terminal 

 joint of the palpi is very short, and the whole palpus is 

 covered with long spreading hairs, like a Psychid-palpus, 

 while in the Tineids the terminal joint is usually rather long 

 and the palpus is covered with dense scales. This is the 

 case even in the allied genus Melasina, but in Diplodoma 

 the scales are rather loose. 



Sir George Hampson, in describing the genus Tricho- 

 cossus (A.M.N.H. ser. 8, vol. vi, p. 134, 1910), states: "This 

 genus may be placed in the Tineida; Avhen the limits of the 

 families ai-e better defined." Of the genus Gymnelema 

 (loc. cit.) he writes: "The genus belongs to the undefined 

 borderland between the Cossidae and Tineidae ; the distinc- 

 tion will probably be proved to be that the former has vein Ic 

 of the fore wing fully developed and reaching the termen or 

 becoming coincident with Ih ; the latter slight and not 

 reaching the termen." 



If I knew that placing the genera in question in the 



