326 THE entomologist's record. 



white on the costa, and the rest ol' the wing of a pure ochre, not at all 

 powdered with black scales as in the type of nimbella. He also further 

 suggests that " saxicola should be retained to distinguish the English 

 variety of nimbella^''' inferring apparently, that all our Jiimbeila are saxicola, 

 which of course they are not. 



H. senecionis. Larvae of this species were first found by Mr. Vaughan, 

 mining in the stems of ragwort {Senecio). Mons. Ragonot {E. M. M. 

 xxii., 26) says: — " 1 he larva feeds in a tubular gallery among the 

 flowers of Se/iedo jacobcetz.'" Mr. Eustace Bankes writes : — " I have lately 

 had reason to work up w'hat information I could about senecio7iis (having 

 never met with it in nature), and I can answer for it that it feeds in 

 seedheads both of ragwort and tansy. ^ Two friends of mine who obtain 

 the larvae in tansy heads in Scotland, find them scarce, which looks as if 

 they are no more inclined to be gregarious than ?ii??ibella." Herr 

 Eppelsheim writes : — " The larva of i7. cretacella {senecionis) feeds in the 

 heads of different species of Senecio, and draws several florets together 

 with a web, the latter mixed with frass " {Stett. Ent. Zeii.^ 1890, p. 53). 



Here, then, we have two members of the genus Honixosoma — nimbella 

 and senecionis — and probably a third — saxicola — feeding on ragwort. 

 There are now two thistle-feeders, binavella and nebulella, to deal with. 



H. bincevella {eliiviella). Mr. Barrett described the larva {E. M. M.^ 

 vol. XV., 180) as feeding in the heads of thistles. Mr. Eustace Bankes 

 writes: — "To the best of my belief, H. bincevella feeds only in thistle, 

 and especially, though I daresay not exclusively, on Cardiius nutans 

 and lanceolatus." 



H. fiebulella. This species, about which perhaps less is known than 

 any other species, is described as feeding in heads of thistles. Mr. C. 

 G, Barrett, summarising the genus, says : — " Senecionis is recognisable 

 at once by its broad fore-wings, and nimbella by its narrow ones. 

 Eluviella {bincevella) has a white costal stripe. Nebulella is rather 

 larger, its costa is not white, but is decidedly more rounded, and the 

 fainter dots of the first line are more nearly parallel to the others. 

 Although the distinctions seem trifling, they are quite easily recognisable 

 when you see the insects alive, or a good series when preserved " {in lift.). 



H. sinuella. This distinct little species feeds in the root stalks of 

 Plantago lanceolatus. Superficially, it varies excessively both in colour 

 and markings. Structurally, " it varies somewhat in the neuration " 

 (Ragonot, E. M. M. xxii., 26).— J. W. Tutt, December] 1890. 



American Parasites of British Species of Lepidoptera. — 

 Insect Life, vol. iii., contains an interesting list of Hymenoptera bred 

 in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which adds greatly to the 

 knowledge of insect-parasitism. The November number, just to hand, 

 has mention of the following parasites of British species of Lepi- 

 doptera ■.— Ichneumon rufiventris, BruUe, from Vanessa cardui. Phceo- 

 gefies ater, Cr., from Sesia tipuliformis. Herpestomus plutellce, Ashm., 

 from Plutella cruciferarum. Hemiteles laticinctus, Riley MS., from 

 leucania jtnipuncta. Stihentes pettitii, Cr., from Leucania tmipuncta. 

 Pczomachus tniniuuis, ^^'^alsh, from Leucania unipuncta. Ophion pur- 

 gatus, Say, from liadcna trifolii. Mesochorus scitulus, Cr., from Leu- 

 cania unipuncta. Linineria oxylus, Cr., from Leucania unipuncta. L. 



^ Wx. Reid, of Pitcaple, Aberdeen, informs me that ragwort is usually called tansy 

 in Scotland. — Ed 



