1866.] 173 



Anterior wings with the costa slightly rounded (in the male speci- 

 men these have almost the form of a flattened ellipse, though this 

 peculiar shape is less marked in the female) ; grey, with the nervures 

 darker, especially those between the end of the discoidal cell and the 

 apex of the wing ; hind margin spotted with dark grey. In the male 

 specimen the costal portion of the wing has an ochreous tinge towards 

 the base. Cilia pale grey, with the extreme tips a little darker. 



Posterior wings pale grey, somewhat transparent towards the anal 

 angle ; cilia pale grey. 



Thorax in front whitish-grey, then grey concolorous with the an- 

 terior wings. 



Legs pale grey. 



This singular insect was bred by Mr. Hind, of York, from dried 

 currants ; we must, therefore, presume it to be an importation, though 

 possibly it may, ere long, be completely domiciled in this country. 



At a first glance, it puts one in mind of Aehroea grisella, though 

 readily distinguished by the white head and veined anterior wings, but 

 a closer investigation shows that the clothing of the head, as also the 

 palpi, are very different from what we find in Aehroea. 



The similarity to Melissohlaptes in structure is very great, especially 

 in the male, for the palpi of the female are much shorter and more 

 thickly scaled than those o^ i\i.e female Melissohlaptes hipunctanus ; but 

 the form of the anterior wings is very different and the markings are 

 quite distinct. All the three European species of Melissohlaptes have 

 the two transverse lines, of which in our CepJialonica we see no trace. 



One curious character is furnished by the abdomen ; in both the 

 specimens before me it is very greasy. Now Professor Zeller observes 

 of Melissohlaptes bipunctanus, " that it is remarkable the imago does 

 not suffer at all from greasiness," but I am not aware whether this ap- 

 plies also to the other species of the genus In habit, M. {?) Cephalonica 

 appears sluggish, certainly not restless. 



I think it extremely probable that a new genus will eventually 

 have to be created for this new species, but I defer doing so till I have 

 more specimens before me, and an opportunity of examining the neu- 

 ration of the wings. 



Mr. Allis kindly brought the specimens up to London in the sum- 

 mer for my examination ; one is now in his collection, the other in the 

 collection of Mr. R. Hind. 



Mountsfield : 27i7i, October; 1865. 



