1872.] 55 



tice, but cither that is not the case with the pinning and setting of 

 Antispila Bivillei, or the nine specimens already manipuhited have 

 • not afforded me a sufficient amount of practice. 



In the first phace the insect is so small ; whereas my smallest 

 Antispila Treif chskiell a exi^&nds, fully three lines, my largest^. Bivillei 

 is little over two lines, and the smaller specimens are considerably 

 under two lines ; indeed, one specimen appears to be smaller than a 

 Nepticula microtherieUa, which I have placed beside it. 



In the second i)lace the insect is so glossi/, that it has a tendency 

 to slip about, and the normal position of the wings render it far more 

 difficult to pin than a Nepticula, which lies flat, besides having the 

 advantage of being roughly scaled. 



Hence, whereas I have always hitherto considered that the pin- 

 ning and setting out nicely of a small Nepticula was the ne plus ultra 

 of a Micro-Lepidopterist (how often have I used the phrase in speak- 

 ing of a Micro-Lepidopterist, " Oh! he can set NepticulcB !"), I have 

 to admit now that a far severer test is afforded by the small, glossy, 

 Antispila Rivillei. 



When I stumbled over the first specimen, I thought the difficulty 

 arose from my own nervousness, at having before me an insect which 

 had not been seen for 120 years, and which might, perhajDS, be the 

 only specimen which I should breed ; but when, after breeding a few 

 more single specimens, three specimens appeared simultaneously, and 

 my difficulty in pinning the creature still continued, either my ner- 

 vousness was extremely obstinate, or the insect really did present 

 some unusual difficulties. 



The head (where visible, for many of my specimens are pinned 

 tliroufjli the head) and face are silvery ; the antennae dark fuscous, 

 annulated with whitish, little more than one-third the length of the 

 anterior wings. 



The anterior wdngs are glossy brown-black, with four bright 

 silvery spots, two on the inner margin, and two on the costa ; the 

 dorsal spots are placed anterior to the costal spots, and are both 

 nearly triangular, the second one being the largest ; the first costal 

 spot is triangular, but very small, being the smallest of the four spots 

 (I apprehend it extends little beyond the sub-costal nervure) ; the 

 second costal spot has its hinder margin rather hollowed or curved. 

 The tips of the cilia are whitish. 



The position of the spots is well shown in fig. -i of the frontis- 

 piece to the ' Tineina of Southern Europe,' only there the relative 

 sizes of the two costal spots are transposed. This figure of course is 



