262 [November, 



be called Empria, Lep." However, on the whole I think it better in 

 these papers to acquiesce in the name which most authors (including 

 Konow himself in his published works) have adopted, viz., Pcecilosoma. 



This is in many respects a peculiar and a very puzzling genus. 

 Some of its species can I e distinguished with little difficulty ; but in 

 other cases it is necessary to take into account a number of minute 

 structural characters, most of which are somewhat variable, and even 

 when this is not so are often difficult to see and easily misinterpreted. 



All but two of our species have a peculiar coloration, which (as 

 said above) has given the genus the name : viz., the abdomen above 

 bears on each side a row of pale yellowish or whitish somewhat trans- 

 verse spots, four segments being flecked in some species, five in others, 

 and so on. The spots are much more conspicuous in some species 

 than in others, and they always show up more or less distinctly 

 according to the way in which the specimens under examination are 

 held and lighted, while in old specimens which have shrivelled or 

 become mouldy and faded, they may easily be overlooked altogether. 

 But if they can be seen at all the insect exhibiting them may at once 

 be set down as a Paecilosoma. 



The neuration in the wings of Pcecilosoma spp. varies more than 

 is usual within the limits of a single genus, and some, but not all, of 

 these differences appear to be specific. Thus, in one species {candi- 

 data) the hind-wings are regularly without any enclosed cell ; while 

 all the others have one such cell (a medial) normally, and aberrations 

 occur — one was lately sent to me by Mr. Harwood, of Colchester — 

 in which a cubital cell is also present. In the fore-wings the first 

 cubital nervure may or may not be obliterated, so that some specimens 

 have three cubital cells like EmpJn/tus, and others four, like Taxonus. 

 I am not sure to what extent this character is specific. In some cases 

 it seems to be rather sexual, and in others, again, merely individual. 

 Thus I find that all my own klugi specimens have four cubital cells, 

 and all my immersa only three. But, on the other hand, I have 

 remarked instances of both conditions in specimens of liturata, 

 lonfficornis, and tridens ; and have also noted that in longicornis the 

 first cubital nerve is usually present in the cJcJ, and absent in 

 the ? ? . 



To determine Pcecilosoma species correctly is by no means easy. 

 The best characters seem to lie in the antennae, the structure of the 

 clypeus (first pointed out by Konow), and the claws. To a certain 

 extent the coloration of the different species helps to distinguish 



