2 SPOLTA ZEYLANICA. 



many of the minute species of Tineina, in which the cilia are enor- 

 mously developed. As regards the origin of the clefts, it has been 

 suggested that these Wave been developed along lines of weakness 

 caused originally by the folding of the wings when at rest. 



The Pterophoridse may be described roughly as small, slim moths 

 with long legs ; the fore wings usually cleft into two segments, the 

 hindwings into three ; maxillary palpi obsolete ; the rows of 

 specialized scales near the dorsal margin on the basal half of the 

 second segment of the hindwings arc also characteristic. They are 

 often attracted to light at night, or maybe disturbed from low- 

 growing herbage in live daytime, when they usually fly only a short 

 distance and alight on a stem or the upper surface of a leaf, where 

 they rest with their wings nearly horizontal and held out at right 

 angles with the body, the hindwings being folded up under the 

 fore wings. But they are best obtained by breeding the larvae, 

 which are readily found once the food plant is known. 



Bibliography. 



Until within the last three or four years the Plume-moths of 

 Ceylon have suffered neglect at the hands of collectors and system- 

 atists alike. In 1864, in his ct List of Insects in the British Museum ," 

 Francis Walker enumerated four species [argyriodactyle^, anisodac- 

 tylus, oxydactylvs, and leucadactylus) , collected by Dr. Templeton and 

 Mr. Nietner, all of which were described as new ; in 1875 Folder 

 figured and named taprobanes, which had been brought back by 

 the Austrian Scientific Expedition in the frigate " Novara ; " in 

 1887, in his " Lepidoptera of Ceylon," F. Moore quoted Walker's 

 descriptions and Folder's figure and described as new one species 

 (serindibanus) which has since proved identical with a well-known 

 I^uropean species ; and in 1891 Lord Walsingham described and 

 figured concursa. 



During a period of forty years, then, only seven species had been 

 found to occur in Ceylon ; in 1905 Mr. E. Meyrick commenced his 

 descriptions of Indian Micro -Lepidoptera in the "Journal of the 

 Bombay Natural History Society," and in the three years, 1905- 

 1907. the former number has represented about the average annual 

 additions to the list, thanks to the energies of our local lepidopterists, 

 and to this number again I now add another eight species or " forms." 

 Although there is no reason to believe that no further additions will 

 be made to our list — indeed. I venture to suppose that our local 

 Pterophorid fauna will eventually be found to include at least fifty 

 species or forms — yet it has seemed to me that a useful end will be 

 served by collecting together the various items that have been 

 published or discovered regarding the Plume-moths of Ceylon. A 

 review of what is already known will at least clear the ground for 

 further work. 



