220 (March, 



Liparid(B, and amongst them, firstly, the dusky Penthophora morio, with 

 its half-winged mate, and then the more brightly coloured Orgyice* 

 two species of which are British ; in this genus, as is well known, the 

 females have only the bare rudiments of wings. 



Mr. Staintou kindly reminds me of one Noctim amongst our 

 European list, with an apterous female, JJlochlcena hirta, of which 

 Guenee says, "Lafemelle a des ailes reduites a de petits moignons 

 tres courts, comme celles des Hi/beivuce.'^ The female is figured by 

 Milliere, in his Icones (livr. 6, pi. 4). 



In the Geometrid(S apterous females become comparatively com- 

 mon : thus following the order of Staudinger's list, there is, firstly, the 

 genus Hibernia (7 speciesf), tlien Anisojjteryx (2 species), Fliigalia 

 pedaria (pilosaria), Chondj'osomajtduciaria, and the first section (in- 

 cluding 9 species) of the genus Bisto7i, nextly, the last sub-section of 

 the genus Gnophos, namely, GnopJios Zelleraria, G. Ander egg aria, G. 

 ccelibaria, and G. operaria, have all sub-apterous females, and so also 

 have two genera allied to Psodos, Pygmcsnafusca, and Egea pravata ; 

 the two CheimatohicE, and, to the best of my belief, the rare Malacodes 

 regelaria, close the list of Geometras. In this group the reason for the 

 absence of wings is more evident than in former insects, many are 

 winter moths, and this absence may make them less conspicuous, yet 

 it may be fairly doubted if the sharp eye of a titmouse would easily 

 pass over a female Gheimatohia, or even a female Exapate gelatella ; 

 others, as the Gnophoi and Paodoi are inhabitants of mountain sum- 

 mits, which seems in part to account for it, yet it has happened to me 

 on the same day to find Pygmcena fasca on the Riffel, and going higher 

 to meet with the winged G7iophos dilucidaria near the top of the 

 Gorncr-Grat. 



Amongst the PyraJidce, Acentropus niveus has the femalej (in 

 part) with rudimentary wings, and it is easy to see that these might 

 much embarrass a moth which lays its eggs under water. 



In the Tortrices, as usually classified by English authors, there 

 would be no species with apterous or sub-apterous females ; but Wocke 

 places Oxypteron impar and Exapate gelatella next to the genua 

 Gheimatophila in this group, separating them, therefore, widely from 

 Dasystoma and Chimahacche, which are retained in the Tineidce, next 

 to the GelecJ/idcE ; these, like many of the wingless Gcometrcc, are 



* See a highly interesting paper by Mr. Stainton on the gi-aduated helplessness of these 

 "lazy hi)use-wives," published in the Journal of the Linnean Society, Zoology, vol. vi, pp. 156 — 

 104 : " On the aV>nonnaI habits of some females of the genus Orgyia." 



t T believe the ? of llibtrni'i Anl-n-ari'i is iniknown. 



I See a very interesting account of the habits of this species in Vol. xii, Ent. Mo. Mag., p. 

 2S7. 



