28 HAUSTELLATA. LEPIDOPTERA. 



Two indigenous specimens only have come beneath my observa- 

 tion, one of which is in the British Museum, the other in Mr. Vigors' 

 collection : they were found in the larva state, at Darenth-wood, 

 about sixteen years back; and, I believe, made their appearance in 

 the perfect state in the beginning of March. 



Genus XLIL — Ptilodontis, Huhner. 



Palpi considerably elongated, porrect, ascending, clothed with elongate scales : 

 maxillce short. Antennae filiform, bipectinated in both sexes, the pectinations 

 shortest in the females: head minute: eyes small: thorax slightly crested: 

 abdomen elongated, tufted at the apex, the tuft bifid in the male : anterior 

 wings denticulated at the hinder margin, the interior edge with two recurved 

 tufts of elongate scales, the basal one the largest; posterior entire: legs 

 moderate, downy; tibice with spvirs at the apex. Larva naked, smooth, 

 without any dorsal prominences, head very acute : pupa subterranean, folli- 

 culated. 



The genus Ptilodontis contains only a single European species, 

 and is at once discriminated by the elongate projecting palpi, crested 

 thorax, denticulated anterior wings, which have two prominences on 

 the interior margin, elongated and bifid tufted abdomen, and bipec- 

 tinated antennae in both sexes. The larva is destitute of any dorsal 

 or caudal eminences, and has a very acute head. 



Sp. 1. palpina. Alis anticis griseo-albidis nigro nervosis striatisque. (Exp. alar. 



$ 1 unc. 6 — 10 lin. : ? 1 unc. 10 hn. — 2 unc. 2 lin.) 

 ph. Bo. palpina. Linne. — Pt. palpina. Steph. Catal. No. 5976. 

 Pale griseous or ochraceous : antennae white, with the pectinations brown : 

 anterior wings grayish-white, irregularly streaked with dusky-black, with the 

 nervures black ; before the middle is a transverse irregularly angulated streak, 

 and behind the middle a second flexuous one frequently geminated, or accom- 

 panied by a row of black spots : and on the posterior margin is also a similar, 

 but obsolete, row, the spots being placed separately between the nervures : 

 the dorsal prominence margined with ochraceous-brown : posterior wings 

 cinereous : ciUa of all ochraceous, sometimes speckled with dusky or brown. 

 This species varies considerably in colour and size. . 



Caterpillar slender, green, with four pale dorsal lines, and a yellow lateral one 

 sprinkled with orange, the former dotted with black : it feeds on the willow, 

 poplar, and lime, and occurs at the end of May and September : pupa red- 

 dish-brown : the imago is found at the beginning of June, and at the end of 

 August. 



Not very abundant; taken occasionally at Coombe, Birch, and 

 Darenth woods ; also at Hertford, and in other places in the me- 

 tropolitan district. " Near Popping."— ilfr. H. Doiihkdaij. 



