﻿11 
  

  

  A 
  Beginner's 
  remarks 
  on 
  the 
  Tortricina. 
  

  

  By 
  Alfbed 
  Sich, 
  F.'E.^.— 
  Read 
  Jul;/ 
  Uth, 
  1918. 
  

  

  In 
  bygone 
  years 
  I 
  made 
  one 
  or 
  two 
  attempts 
  to 
  study 
  the 
  highly 
  

   interesting 
  and 
  entertaining 
  insects 
  that 
  constitute 
  the 
  well-marked 
  

   family 
  known 
  as 
  the 
  Tortricina, 
  my 
  main 
  object 
  then 
  being 
  the 
  

   discovery 
  of 
  what 
  species 
  inhabited 
  my 
  home 
  district. 
  With 
  the 
  

   kind 
  help 
  of 
  Mr. 
  South, 
  Mr. 
  Robert 
  Adkin, 
  and 
  Mr. 
  Turner, 
  the 
  

   names 
  of 
  the 
  moths 
  I 
  caught 
  were 
  ascertained. 
  During 
  the 
  last 
  

   twelve 
  months 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  studying 
  this 
  family 
  again 
  and 
  especially 
  

   the 
  available 
  literature 
  concerning 
  the 
  British 
  species. 
  The 
  books 
  

   I 
  read 
  were 
  Wilkinson's 
  " 
  British 
  Tortrices," 
  Stainton's 
  " 
  Manual," 
  

   Meyrick's 
  " 
  Handbook 
  " 
  and 
  the 
  10th 
  and 
  11th 
  volumes 
  of 
  Barrett's 
  

   " 
  Lepidoptera 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  Isles.'- 
  

  

  Wilkinson's 
  book 
  was 
  published 
  in 
  that 
  famous 
  year 
  1859, 
  and, 
  

   though 
  now 
  out 
  of 
  date, 
  it 
  was 
  most 
  conscientiously 
  written 
  and 
  

   contains 
  many 
  shrewd 
  suggestions. 
  There 
  is 
  a 
  certain 
  amount 
  of 
  

   science 
  in 
  it, 
  but 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  tiresome 
  method 
  of 
  separating 
  the 
  

   genera 
  by 
  the 
  different 
  lengths 
  of 
  the 
  joints 
  of 
  the 
  palpi, 
  which 
  can 
  

   only 
  be 
  seen 
  properly 
  by 
  denuding 
  these 
  organs 
  of 
  their 
  scales, 
  the 
  

   book 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  convenient 
  one 
  to 
  work 
  with 
  for 
  the 
  identification 
  of 
  

   species. 
  When 
  however 
  one 
  knows 
  the 
  moths 
  the 
  work 
  becomes 
  

   very 
  useful, 
  and 
  it 
  also 
  forms 
  an 
  epitome 
  of 
  the 
  knowledge 
  possessed 
  

   by 
  the 
  collectors 
  of 
  that 
  period. 
  

  

  Stainton's 
  " 
  Manual 
  " 
  is, 
  as 
  regards 
  the 
  Tortrices, 
  a 
  condensed 
  

   edition 
  of 
  Wilkinson's 
  book, 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  short 
  descriptions 
  of 
  the 
  

   " 
  Manual," 
  the 
  points 
  of 
  difference 
  between 
  the 
  species 
  are 
  sometimes 
  

   more 
  directly 
  brought 
  to 
  the 
  readers 
  notice. 
  

  

  Meyrick's 
  " 
  Handbook 
  " 
  is 
  the 
  only 
  really 
  scientific 
  book 
  on 
  the 
  

   British 
  species, 
  but 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  classification 
  being 
  based 
  only 
  on 
  

   the 
  structure 
  without 
  regard 
  to 
  the 
  appearance 
  or 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  

   insects, 
  it 
  upsets 
  many 
  of 
  our 
  preconceived 
  notions 
  of 
  affinity. 
  

   Again 
  his 
  classification 
  is 
  not 
  that 
  of 
  the 
  British 
  or 
  European 
  

   species 
  only, 
  but 
  is 
  founded 
  on 
  the 
  Tortricina 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  world. 
  

   This 
  basis 
  is 
  of 
  course 
  absolutely 
  right, 
  but 
  it 
  makes 
  chaos 
  at 
  first 
  

   of 
  our 
  ideas 
  derived 
  from 
  the 
  older 
  Avriters, 
  or 
  from 
  the 
  study 
  of 
  the 
  

   British 
  species 
  only. 
  Thirdly 
  this 
  "Handbook" 
  is 
  not 
  a 
  volume 
  that 
  

   we 
  can 
  open 
  at 
  first 
  sight 
  and 
  gain 
  the 
  knowledge 
  we 
  seek. 
  The 
  

   lucid 
  introduction 
  must 
  first 
  l)e 
  mastered, 
  but 
  once 
  we 
  have 
  done 
  

   that 
  we 
  shall 
  find 
  the 
  book 
  truly 
  handy 
  and 
  of 
  great 
  use. 
  

  

  