1881], 179 



continues of a dirty whitish colour just above the legs to the end of 

 the thirteenth, having a fine line of the ground colour running through 

 ibelow ; the minute round spiracles are of the ground colour, finely 

 ringed with darker, the tubercular dots very small, blackish-brown, 

 and slightly glistening, each with a fine hair ; the ocellated spot on 

 either side of the third and twelfth segments is of the ground colour, 

 ringed with black, and with a minute black centre bearing an extra 

 long hair ; the anterior legs black, the ventral and anal legs of the 

 ground colour. This individual produced an ichneumon on the 25th 

 of June, 1880. — ¥m. Bucklee. 



Emsworth : 



13th November, 1880. 



[The re-discovery of this species, the genuine Phycita hostilis of Stephens, is of 

 considerable interest. The only recent (probable) record upon -which I can put my 

 hand, is at vol. iv, p. 152, of this Magazine, when the late Eev. E. Horton recorded 

 the rearing of a specimen of a Phycis adelphella in the year 1860, from a larva 

 found feeding on aspen, near Worcester, and gave a short description of the larva. 



The name hostilis, Steph., had before that time been superseded in favour of 

 adelphella, Fisch., by Mr. Doubleday in his catalogue, but, apparently, "without 

 sufficient reason, supposing the species to be identical, for Stephens' description, 

 published in 1834, is probably anterior to that of Fischer von Eoslerstamm, 1834 to 

 1843. I also think that Mr. Doubleday must have relied upon a description of 

 adelphella, and not on a comparison of the insects themselves. 



Some years ago Professor Zeller, who had also described adelphella in the Isis 

 (1846), sent me a type from Silesia, and as Dr. Wood has kindly allowed me to 

 examine one of his specimens, I am able to record the result. 



Adelphella (from Zeller) is rather likoformosa, Haw., but with narrower fore- 

 wings, the costa being regularly curved, the base of fore-wings brick-red, bounded 

 by a broad, oblique, curved, blackish, cloudy fascia, which includes the first line, 

 double, twice angulated, black with a white line between. The remainder of the 

 wing clouded with dark grey, except an ill-defined brick-red blotch along the dorsal 

 margin. Second line double, sinuous, placed far back but very distinct in the cloudy- 

 grey ground colour, central dot also very indistinct. Hind-wings pale grey. 



Stephens' description of hostilis is as follows : " Anterior wings brownish, with 

 the base somewhat ferruginous and immaculate ; this space is followed by a broadish, 

 waved, fuscous or black fascia, in which is a pale streak ; towards the hinder margin 

 is a second dark fascia, in which is a distinct waved pale streak, slightly angulated 

 towards the inner margin ; the space between them is slightly clouded, and bears a 

 brown lunule towards the costa ; on the hinder margin is an interrupted fuscous 

 jline ; cilia brownish ; posterior wings fuscous, cilia paler, shining, with a dark line 

 at the base. 



" I have a specimen of this very distinct species, which a little resembles the 

 foregoing \_pinguis~] which I took at Darenth Wood in June many years since, and 

 another found at Eipley in 1827." — Illustr. Haust., iv., p. 307. 



With this description of hostilis Dr. Wood's specimen agrees most accurately, 



