19O0.] 3 



specimens before me sufRce to demonstrate all the above points. The position of 

 the trapezoidal tubercles places sepium in an advanced position amongst the higher 

 Psychids, whilst the pupal and other structures show that it belongs, perhaps, rather 

 to the tineoid lower section, but approaching the higher; it is in fact a most 

 interesting transitional form. 



The Pupa. — The male pupa shows the anal spikes to be dorsal, as in all the 

 lower Psychids (micro or tineoid) ; this is easily observed in Mr. Fletcher's speci- 

 men, betulina has the anal spikes of the male pupa ventral, as they occur in Fumea 

 and all the higher Psychids. I have not felt it necessary to injure Mr. Fletcher's 

 fine specimen of the larva case to demonstrate the female pupa case it contains, as 

 the evidence that these were sepium is abundant enough without this. Had I done 

 so, I should have found that the female pupa case has no anal spines, here agreeing 

 with betulina, Fumea, and the higher Psychids, instead of witli the lower, as the 

 male pupa does. 



The Imago. — A cursory glance is quite insufficient to distinguish the male of 

 sepium from that of betulina. In both tliere is a dark shade at tlio end of the cell, 

 and the nervures beyond give somewhat darker lines. In fresh specimens of sepium 

 one may occasionally observe, as Mr. Barrett notes, some suggestions of talseporiad 

 reticulations, these are usually slight and evanescent, and never, I think, occur in 

 betulina. The best distinction between the two insects is one that, for obvious 

 reasons of respect for the integrity of the specimens, I have not observed in these 

 examples, that is, tliat in sepium there is usually (but not always) an accessory cell 

 at the apical angle of the discoidal cell. I put this first, as it marks the alliance of 

 sepium with the lower Psychids, which all possess this cell, whilst none of the higher 

 do so. Its variability, as in other items of neuration in sepium, is no doubt related 

 to the transitional position of the species. Two other characters may, however, be 

 observed in these specimens that are quite conclusive as between sepium and betulina. 

 One of these is the number of antennal joints — 26 in sepium, 21 in betulina ; the 

 other is the length of the spine of the anterior tibia, which in sepium, as in the 

 lower Psychids and in the Epichnopterygid section of the higher, is of half the 

 length of the tibia. In betulina it is three-fourths the length of the tibia, a length 

 very rare in the group, and here marking the transition from the lower and 

 Epichnopterygid Psychids to Fumea and Psyche proper, which have very long an- 

 terior tibial spurs (except where they have lost them, which does not here concern us). 



The peculiar short, square-set, pectinations in sepium, which rigidly maintain 

 their positions in the dried specimen, are very different from the long flowing pec- 

 tinations in betulina, which twist about more or less in drying. 



The female of betulina has a pure white apical brush of wool, and, except a few 

 similar hairs, on the thoracic region, and, perhaps, anterior abdominal, the surface 

 is naked, no scales of any sort being visible. Sepium has a very general clothing of 

 ordinary scales, which may be easily seen in this, as in any other dried specimen, 

 and the anal tuft is pale brownish. 



Shrivelled though the specimen before me is, two other characters 

 of sepium, ? , as distinct from betulina may be made out ; first, the long 

 first tarsal joint — in sepium the relative lengths of the four joints of 



