240 [October, 



I have not met with any account of breeding any of these species 

 from the egg, to ascertain the precise number of moults that occur. 

 It is just possible that the smaller male is full grown one instar earlier 

 than the female, but has been unable to drop the superfluous moult, 

 and puts it in in this way. Orgyia antiqua is in the position of 

 requiring one less moult in the male than in the female, but the super- 

 fluous moult is entirely absent in the male. Again, the male pupa 

 (and imago) is much less bulky than the female, the extra moult may 

 be of use in reducing the male to these smaller dimensions. 



I add photographs of a prepared skin of the full-grown Jarva 

 (fig. 1), of the skin cast at pupation by the female (fig. 4), and of the 

 two skins cast by the male, one on spinning up (fig. 2), and the other 

 (fig. 3) on pupating. It can be gathered from these figures that in 

 the instance of any other Psychid, if a male and female case be opened 

 after pupation (and at any time after) and the cast skins in the male 

 and female differ as figs. 3 and 4 differ, it may be inferred that 

 this extra male moult obtains, and it should thus be easy to extend 

 our knowledge as to how far this curious habit is general. 



DESCRIPTION OF PLATE X. 

 Fig. 1. — Prepared skin of full-grown larva of Oreopsyche pyrenaella X 10. 

 Fig. 2. — Skin cast on spinning wp by $ larva X t l\. 

 Fig. 3. — „ „ pupation of „ X t i\. 



Fig. 4.— „ „ „ „ ? „ X 7i. 



The three latter figures, of course, reproduce the imperfections due to the 

 difficulty of unravelling cast skins. 



Betula, Eeigate : 



September, 1914. 



MICRO-LEPIDOPTERA IN THE OXFOED DISTRICT. 

 BY B. G. E. WATERS, M.A. 



Having collected Micro- Lepidoptera in this district more or less 

 persistently since 1911, I submit a list of the more interesting Pyra- 

 lides, Pterophori, Crambi, and Tortrices which have come to my notice. 

 My observations cover Oxford itself, the surrounding country to a 

 distance of six or eight miles, and the chalk downs of Oxfordshire and 

 Berkshire from Chinnor to Wantage. 



In Oxford itself I have taken : — Pyralis lienigialis, Z., one fine specimen on 

 a telegraph-pole by the canal, May 9th, 1912, an unusually early date for this 



