OCCURRENCE OF SOLENOBIA WOCKII, HEIN., IN BRITAIN. 

 BY C. G. BARRETT, F.E.S. 



When at Birmingham last winter I noticed in the collection of 

 my friend Mr. R. C. Bradley, at Sutton Coldfield, a specimen of the 

 male of a species of Solenohia unknown to me. In response to my 

 urgent request he, and Mr. Martineau of Solihull, gave up their spare 

 time at Easter to a systematic search for the species in the Wyre 

 Forest district, on the borders of Worcestershire and Salop. On 

 April 15th one specimen was taken at about 8.15 a.m., three others 

 the next morning between 8 and 9 o'clock, one at 6 p.m. of that day, 

 and a sixth at 10.15 a.m. on the 17th. At the same time search was 

 made in the edge of the Forest on tree trunks and walls in the 

 boundary lane, and even on old apple trees in a neighbouring orchard, 

 for the cases, and, if possible, females, but unfortunately without 

 success. Of these specimens three were promptly forwarded to me, 

 but pressure of other w ork has delayed their identification until quite 

 recently, when at the British Museum at South Kensington I found, 

 in the collection of the late Professor Frey, of Zurich, specimens 

 agreeing most accurately with them, under the name of Wockii, 

 Heinemann, and labelled " Silesia," hence probably from Dr. Wocke. 



Solenobia Wockii, as described by Heinemann, is of a " yellowish-white-grey," 

 distinctly latticed with brown-grey, and with darker dots on the nervures and costal 

 margin ; the pale spots rather large ; cilia unicolorous ; hind-wings with the apex 

 rather broad, semitransparent light grey ; head dull grey, darker at the back ; body 

 blackish, banded with grey. Expanse, 2 J to 2| lines. Female apterous, yellow- 

 brown, with a snow-white anal tuft. Case of the male 2j lines long and j line 

 thick, cylindrical, constricted at each end, without distinct angles ; that of the female 

 almoet 4 lines long, flat beneath, with distinct lateral and dorsal angles ; covered 

 with grains of sand and morsels of lichen. 



The full description is rendered obscure by constant references 

 to closely allied species (*S'. pineti and S. Mannii) which are not 

 known to occur here ; and as may be expected, the yellowish colouring 

 is exceedingly indistinct in the British specimens, and the dark flecks 

 and latticing more pronounced, but the proportionately large whitish 

 spots or interstices agree well, and I think that there is no doubt of 

 the correctness of this identification. That Mr. Bradley's specimens 

 agree with Frey's types is beyond question. In Mr. Stainton's col- 

 lection 1 find a single s[)ecimen of the same species among his specimens 

 of 6'. inconspicuella, and from its being labelled '" Edleston," 1 have 

 little doubt that the [)resent species is that which was alluded to by Mr. 

 Edleston iu the Intelligencer, vol. v, p. 146, as either triquetrella or a 



