SCIENTIFIC NOTKS AND OBSERVATIONS. 289 



On August 23rd I took a nest of Bambini latrnlldlns — a bee very 

 little known — deep in a mouse-hole, on pasture. The entrance was 

 nearly blocked by a web as large as a French walnut, spun up by the 

 Apliomia larvae, which had migrated from the nest, as they frequently 

 do. In the nest itself were some others of the larvje, and those of a 

 small moth unknown to me, possibly (JEcophnra pseudospretella. 



As I have before remarked, the moth usually affects the nests of 

 the surface bees, viz., B. derhamdlm, B. agrorwn, B. vemistiis and 

 B. sijlvarum, and to find it underground is not of very frequent occur- 

 rence, and, I fancy, it is owing to the very dry season which has laid 

 open so many nests of the surface bees to their various enemies. — 

 W. H. Tuck, M.A., Tostock House, Bury St. Edmunds. October 

 Mth, 1897. 



The Gkometrid family Amphidasyd.e. — The Awphidafii/dae are a 

 small and tolerably compact group of moths, placed, no doubt rightly, 

 somewhere near the Boarmiidae. Guenee has them after the Enno- 

 midae (last British species Hhnera pennaria) and before Biiarmiidae (first 

 British species Hcmerophila abruptaria). Staudinger has them between 

 Anisoptenjx and Hi/bevjiia, perhaps on account of their frequent winter 

 appearance and wingless ? s, but there is nothing scientific in this 

 arrangement, and I do not see the slightest relationship here. Packard, 

 however, says the venation of Hybernia agrees with Biston and Amphi- 

 dasijs. I do not know the earliest stages of Himera pennaria, but the 

 Ainphidasi/dae seem to have some connection with Selenia, and the 

 young larvae are something like Tephroda, etc. The British genera 

 comprise rhii/alia, Bistun, j\'//.w«a and Ampludasus. The Museum 

 collection shows very few, if any, links with the Boarmids ; hence the 

 group would appear tolerably specialised. They there form part of 

 the great sub-family Boarniiinae, which includes Ennoiindae, Fido- 

 niidae, etc., of Guenee, following some "thorn" genera, and pre- 

 ceding Hybernia. Meyrick also has these united in one family — his 

 Selidosemidae. Packard keeps Ennominae and Eidimiinae away from 

 the Boarmiinae, but includes the winter groups, Hyberniidae and 

 Ainphidasydae, of Guenee, with the latter. Mr. Tutt also leads on from 

 Hyberniidae to Boarmiidae, and thence to Ainphidasydae, though 

 giving each family rank. He also incidentally suggests that the 

 Fidoniidae may have strong affinities with certain of the Boarmids. 

 The British Museum collection contains nearly 30 species of Amphi- 

 dasyds, several being Asiatic and N. American. The Americans have 

 two or three representative species or local forms, thus, A. coynataria, 

 Gn., represents our A. betularia; B.ursaria, Walker, our B.hirtaria,a,nd 

 P. striyataria our P. pedaria. A few typical Amphidasy.s partake also of 

 some features of both our British species, A. strataria and A. betularia. 

 These two species are very closely allied, and Staudinger appears to me 

 to be wrong in removing A. strataria into the genus Biston. Experi- 

 ments have shown that the two can easily be hybridised, if they can 

 only be made to emerge at the same time. On the other hand, it is 

 just possible Nyssia has some right to be united with Biston ; B. 

 hirtaria and N. hispidaria seem pretty close in some ways, but per- 

 haps our British system of genera is the best. Phiyalia, with one 

 species, is fairly distinct ; yet the larva, and, to some slight extent, the 

 female imago, bring it rather close to N. hispidaria. Nyssia is an 

 interesting genus of rather small moths, stoutly built, with very hairy 



